Fading
by Sandfire Kat
Summary: Sora is captured by the Organization, who are forcing him to complete Kingdom Hearts faster by bombarding him with heartless. With friends gone and will broken, darkness looms over Sora, threatening to swallow him up. But a friend is closer than he thinks. With this new ally, a way out gleams teasingly back at him. But if he even manages to escape, there will be nasty surpises
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This fanfiction will be going along the lines of the original KHII, so disregard the Final Mix version. Okay? Okay. ^-^

Anyway, my name is Sandfire Kat, and thank you for flying Fanfiction Express with me ;)

Beginnings and summaries are a B to write, so thank you for reading this XDDD

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It was chaos down below, the gully alive with the clangs of weapons clashing, battle cries and yelps of pain rising up into a steady roar of noise. Heartless were a black wave, shifting and rippling as the herd of black beings moved on, making slow but steady progress. The things were not of the Organization's side, but their being there was the perfect distraction. Mere bubbles in a sea of plans, the heartless could be used in their favor in a short time being. If the plan went as accordingly.

It was a delicate process, of course. One little mistake could mean the downfall. They had to do it quickly, without much commotion, and they had to cover their tracks afterwards. There would have to be no extra passengers on this ride. The thought made a small smile worm its way onto the man's face, the smile containing nothing except sick humor, and even excitement. Yes, the plan was perfect, and he intended to keep it that way.

Footsteps coming up behind him made the smile vanish, the man's blank, empathetic face returning in less than a millisecond. He did not turn to look who it was, he could tell without a passing glance behind him. He did not reply either, remaining silent until the person decided to speak. "Demyx failed." Xaldin reported, voice dark. The man scowled instantly, silently cursing the boy responsible repeatedly in his mind. His hands fisted at his sides, and only then did he turn around.

Eyes narrowed, he spoke in an angered voice. "Then we'll go down and do it ourselves. We will make sure that there will be no more failures." Growling slightly under his breath, the man glanced down at the gully, eyes already roving back and forth as they tried to search for a glimpse of the boy. "We've had enough of those. With all of us together, there will be no other possible way for the boy to weasel out of our grasp."

"But, Xemnas, are you sure that it's such a good idea?" Xaldin asked wildly, looking at the man as if he had sprouted wings from his back. "What if he actually-"

"The boy is a mere child, Xaldin. He's been able to scrape along by facing just one of us at a time, but all of us together should prove to be enough for him." Xemnas interrupted coldly, eyes still angered. "There is no chance that he will actually succeed in defeating all of us at the same time. Round up the others, and this time be quicker with it." When Xaldin still didn't move, Xemnas turned around, looking the Organization member up and down expectantly. "What are you waiting for?" He demanded, louder this time. "We've been waiting for this moment for too long. I said GO GET THE OTHERS!"

At the sudden increase in volume, the man jerked, a small noise coming from him as he did so. Ducking his head slightly, the man mumbled something that sounded like a quick apology before he turned and created a quick portal, stepping through and disappearing from sight in less than a minute. Xemnas sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he willed for patience. Patience would be key in this plan, without it, they might as well throw it all away.

After a moment, Xemnas turned back around stiffly, looking back down into the gully in which surrounded the rather broken castle. "Now, where are you?" He muttered darkly to himself, eyes drilling through the mess of fighting bodies as he strained for a glimpse. But of course, he couldn't catch sight of the boy that was his target. "No matter." He sighed airily, letting his hands fall to his sides lightly. "You cannot hide forever." And if the plan went accordingly, he wouldn't be running away anytime soon either. "Enjoy your time now, young keyblade bearer." Xemnas said thinly. "We'll get you soon enough."

Although it seemed like an impossible task beforehand, after careful planning, Xemnas realized it could actually be possible. He made a face. Possible, but he trusted it would be a very difficult task afterwards. Probable, it seemed. Figuring that Xaldin would soon be back with the others, Xemnas turned and made his way backwards, retracing his steps so that he could see the battlefield more clearly. Hopefully it will be easy to get the keyblade bearer isolated, otherwise it will prove a much harder task than he had anticipated.

Over thinking things was making it seemed a lot more complicated than it was supposed to be, it seemed. Shaking his head to clear it, Xemnas clenched his hands together tightly, his weapons appearing in his hands as a flash of red laser light. Rounding the corner, Xemnas looked up in the sky, telling the time by the sun overhead. But it was as he expected: he still had time to be able to pull it off. He had much more time than he needed, actually.

And then he would have all the time in the world to deal with the keyblade bearer as seen fit.

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"Go!" Yuffie yelled over at Sora, the teen glancing back over at her as the heartless in front of him disappeared in a puff of black smoke. "I'll catch up with Aerith, and try to see if she needs any help! Are you going to be good, here?" Sora gave her a smile in response, straightening and saluting the ninja dramatically. Giving a small laugh, Yuffie spun around, gripping her daggers tightly as she jumped down from the ledge, jumping from one outcrop to the other until she hit the ground with a thump.

Glancing from side to side, the girl tried to swallow her frustration as she realized that the heartless did not seemed to be on the loosing side. Looking back where she had left Sora, Yuffie gave a small nod. "Good luck." She whispered under her breath, steeling herself before she darted away, picking up speed until she broke into a sprint. Puffing for air as she raced ahead, Yuffie dodged and slashed at every heartless that tried to get in her way, her eyes narrowed with concentration and anger.

These heartless shouldn't be here, that much was certain. Yuffie cursed the day that Maleficent started this whole charade of herself and the darkness. It had ruined everything, including her own world. She would never forget the day that her world had disappeared. As if the thought gave her fuel, her swipes became more angered, more powerful as she knocked a wave of heartless behind her with ease.

Finally, she caught sight of her friend. Aerith was fighting by herself, the girl kicking out and striking as many heartless as she could reach. Yuffie gasped and quickened her pace, seeing that the heartless were surrounding her friend. Aerith wasn't ever much of a fighter, she was more of a healer, the girl would need Yuffie's help more severely than anybody else. "I'm here!" She called loudly, her friend turning around at once. She gave a relieved sigh as Yuffie vaulted over the ring of heartless, landing squarely beside her with a huff. "Hey." She panted, turning and smiling over at the brunette.

"You doing okay?" Aerith asked in concern, looking Yuffie up and down worriedly.

"Oh yeah, this is nothing." Yuffie said lowly, tightening her hold on her dagger. "Good exercise, right?" Aerith opened her mouth to say something, but Yuffie didn't hear her, the girl letting out a loud squeak as a heartless leapt at her throat, the girl only managing to block the attack rather sloppily, leaping over to the side at the same time in order to knock back another heartless making its way for Aerith. "Maybe a little too much exercise." She muttered under her breath, too quiet for Aerith to hear. She almost didn't hear it either, the sounds of battle around her were so loud, she could barley hear herself think.

"You can go, Yuffie…" Aerith said, watching Yuffie as the ninja stood in front of her protectively. "I'll be fine on my own…" Yuffie rolled her eyes irritably. She would do that as soon as she would leave Hollow Bastian altogether.

"You don't-" Yuffie stopped mid-sentence as all of the heartless that surrounded them suddenly vanished in a bright flash of orange. Blinking, Yuffie straightened, realizing as she looked around that it had been fire to shoo the heartless away, the heat of it hanging in the air as she stood alongside Aerith. "What…" The ninja squinted, seeing with alarm that although the heartless were gone in front of them, there were already reinforcements making their way across the gully towards them. "Let's get out of here!" She yelled, looking around for whatever had caused the heartless' sudden disappearance. Grabbing Aerith's hand, the girl letting out a squeak as she was tugged forward.

"Leaving already, hmm?" A voice stopped her cold, the ninja glancing over at Aerith with alarm shining clearly in her eyes. Looking over her shoulder slowly, Yuffie swallowed a thick lump in her throat as she saw a tall, dark figure standing across them, arms folded and hood drawn up to cover their face as it stood stiffly. The figure reached up, pulling down the hood and revealing their face as they gave the two girls a sly smile. Brushing a hand through his shockingly red hair, the man looked at them almost leeringly.

"…Who are you?" Yuffie asked, getting over her shock as she turned around, eyes narrowed.

"No need to be so hasty now." The man laughed, folding his arms over his chest loosely. Everything about the man seemed to show relaxation, something Yuffie raised her eyebrow at questioningly. He wasn't on their side, that was for sure. Otherwise he would be more worried about the millions of heartless racing about. "I thought it was the girls who always wanted to take it slow, am I right?" He looked as though he wanted a reaction. Yuffie refused to give him one. Face falling somewhat, the man finally answered her question. "Axel."

"Axel?" Aerith repeated, eyes wide. She glanced over at Yuffie. "Hasn't Sora mentioned…"

"You're from the Organization." Yuffie growled, the realization dawning on her as she got into a battle position. "So that means you were a part of who to make this happen." She didn't need to gesture around at the heartless to her point across. "I'll make you regret it." She vowed, raising her ninja star in the air and swinging it forward with all the strength she could manage, the weapon shooting straight forward at the Organization member.

Axel muttered curse under his breath, stepping to the side just in time. The weapon flashed by, just grazing his ear as it continued to spin through the air. Hissing, Axel watched as the weapon spun in the air, flipping around and shooting right back at the girl, who reached up and caught it expertly. Refusing to back down, Axel clapped his hands together slowly. "So close." He said almost mockingly. "But you get an A for effort. Don't let that get in the way of things, right?"

Yuffie scrunched her face up in a scowl, raising her arm and aiming for Axel's head once more. But this time, the man was ready. Instead of trying to block the attack, he reached forward, catching the pesky star right out of the air, smiling at Yuffie's shocked expression as he spun it in his hand smugly. "Whoops." He mused. "Finger slipped, huh?"

Gritting her teeth together, Yuffie took a threatening step forward. "You'd better give that back-" She broke off as Axel raised it in the air, making the girl jump backwards, throwing her arms up in front of her face as if to shield herself. At Axel's laugh, Yuffie turned bright red, trembling with frusteration as she looked back at Aerith with a spin. "Do you have a weapon on you?" She demanded, looking the girl up and down. Her heart pounded, the blood roaring in her ears loudly. The heartless were getting closer, without a weapon, what was she supposed to do? She could attack them physically like Aerith was attempting to do, but her weapon would have protected them much better than that. Her hopes faded as Aerith shook her head fast, looking a little overwhelmed where she stood. "Drat." Yuffie grumbled, turning back around.

She'd have to get it back one way or another. Bracing herself, Yuffie dashed forward, air slicking her hair back to her forehead as she ran. Axel blinked, watching as the girl ran forward rather calmly, face blank. Getting close enough to the man, Yuffie bunched up her legs, shooting off of the ground and flying through the air as she posed for an attack, sticking her leg out straight as she aimed for the man's face.

Axel ducked swiftly, throwing his arm in the air and sticking the ninja star straight up, catching Yuffie's foot as the girl went through the air. Instantly, Yuffie gasped as pain made her eyes close tightly, the girl loosing her balance and tumbling back to the ground with a thud. Wind whooshing out of the girl, Yuffie closed her eyes tightly, holding her stomach as she groaned painfully. Axel looked back at her, eyes narrowed by now. "Look what you made me do." He said darkly. Turning around, he started towards Yuffie, Aerith letting out a small gasp as she fumbled forward, looking as though she was going to protect her friend. Yuffie's eyes widened as Axel came closer.

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"Need some help there?" Sora jerked at the voice, blinking as he paused in his swipes, smiling as Leon sprinted forward, sword already drawn as he skidded to a stop beside the smaller teen. Glancing down at him, Leon smirked. "In a tough situation?" He asked, looking around at the horde of heartless clambering over one another to get a swipe at the keyblade bearer.

Sora just laughed. "Not anymore." He grunted, turning around and giving a sharp jab at a shadow as it leapt at him. Digging his heels into the ground, Sora paused for a moment to breathe, one eye closed as he surveyed the enemies that were now closing in on him. Gritting his teeth, he waited, keeping his feet planted firmly one the ground. Right before any of them struck, Sora extended his keyblade, pushing off the ground and spinning as fast as he could go. Making sure his arms were rigid, Sora smirked triumphantly as he felt the blade strike his intended targets. Flinging the heartless back a good few feet, Sora let himself relax slightly, his muscles burning.

Looking over at Leon, Sora made sure that his friend was doing fine, giving a small nod of affirmation to himself before he concentrated on his own task. Rolling away from an attacking heartless, Sora tensed as he got closer to the cliff, thrusting his feet out and stopping himself right before he could fall over the edge. Putting his hands down on the ground, he was preparing to jump up, but stopped rigid at the sight he saw below him.

He couldn't help but let out a gasp, loud enough for even Leon to hear it. The man struck the enemy he was facing away with a powerful swipe, knocking the heartless into the cliff wall as it vanished in a puff of darkness. Rushing over, Leon looked down into the gully below, letting out a loud growl as he saw Yuffie and Aerith. "The Organization!" He yelled angrily. "We have to get down there and help them!" Leon shouted angrily, standing up.

Sora scrambled to his feet, eyes locked on the Organization member below. He was pretty sure he had seen that man before…but…where? He couldn't remember. His thoughts were interrupted as something sharp slammed into the back of his head, the teen hissing sharply at the pain as he fell forward slightly. Leon reacted instantly, reaching over and pulling Sora backwards, away from the cliff's edge. One hand gripping the back of his head, Sora spun around, swiping his key right through the shadow that had attacked him angrily. "Thanks." He growled through his teeth.

"We can't both go." Leon replied, watching as Sora darted forward to deal with the other heatless, the teen's blue eyes shining with irritation and frustration. "Can you hold things up here?" The question was asked hesitantly, it was clear that the man wasn't all on board in leaving the boy alone. Sora turned back, eyes going down to the gully where Yuffie and Aerith were being attacked.

"Yeah, sure!" He called back, parrying a blow to his head with difficulty. "Don't worry about me!"

Nodding quickly, Leon made quick progress in leaping down into the gully, vanishing from Sora's sight as quickly as he had appeared before. Adrenaline pumping through Sora's veins, the boy grounded his teeth together angrily. "You guys are so annoying!" He yelled loudly at the heartless surrounding him. As if in response, three Air Soldiers entered the fight, flying out and diving for Sora in a sort of barrel roll. Groaning, Sora sucked in a gulp of air, bracing himself as he raised his keyblade once more.

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"Look, I don't want to be violent or anything. I don't want to be the bad guy, here." Axel said, a little too lightly for the situation. Yuffie's face turned from panic to puzzlement, the girl slacking from her tense posture moments before. Axel sighed. "But, unfortunately I'm under strict orders TO do that…" Axel looked down at the ground thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging. "Ah, well." He said finally, turning back to Yuffie.

All of a sudden, something slammed into him from behind, knocking him off balance as he staggered forward. Yuffie made a noise of alarm, pushing herself backwards as Axel stepped right in the place where she had been moments before. Looking behind him angrily, Axel narrowed his eyes as he spotted the brunette from before. Her green eyes were filled with anger, and she slammed her elbow into his back a second time. "Let Yuffie go!" She yelled loudly.

"Get off!" Axel yelled, spinning around and pushing her backwards. Not expecting his own strength, Axel blinked as the girl flew backwards a few feet, landing on the ground and skidding backwards. Immediately, Yuffie leapt up, wrapping her arms around his neck and hanging onto his back for dear life, the Organization member bending forward under the additional weight. "What the-" Axel broke off, yanking his hand away as he saw the girl reaching for her weapon. "Not a chance!" He shouted, leaning backwards and falling to the ground, squishing the girl underneath him as Yuffie let out a surprised squeak. The girl started to struggle, yelling out insults as she tried to knock him to the side angrily.

Suddenly, a foot slammed into his side, kicking Axel off the girl and causing him to skid to the side a ways. It was almost as far as he had pushed the other girl. Looking up angrily, Axel looked up at a man with spiky brown hair, a large sword poised and ready for battle at his side. "What did you think you were doing?" The man demanded, glaring at Axel as he helped Yuffie up, who looked frazzled. "Did you think they were the only ones here to help?"

"Nah, I knew there were more." Axel said, smiling crookedly as he dusted himself off calmly. "What do you take me for, an idiot? I think I deserve more credit than that, don't you think?"

"Maybe." Leon grunted ungraciously. "We'll find out." Raising his sword, he pointed it over at Axel. "You're going to give my friend back her weapon. And then we'll see who deserves more credit." Axel glanced down at the ninja star he still held in his hand. Laughing, he looked back up, swinging the star over and watching as it fell at the girl's feet. She instantly reached down and scooped it up.

"Fine. We don't have much time, though." Axel snorted, the heartless rushing forward behind him. "I'll have to make this quick."

And with that, the fight began.

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Slicing through the last heartless, Sora was out of breath, gasping for air that didn't seem to fill his lungs. But he had to keep going to meet up with the others. Donald and the king would be waiting for him. Turning around and forcing his legs into a run, Sora made for the ridge that led up to where he had to go, already making a plan in his head for what to do if he ran into any more heartless. But right when he was about to enter the passage itself, he slammed into a wall, getting shot backwards immediately.

Giving a grunt, Sora blinked, pushing himself upright once more and looking with confusion at the still-clear passage. Getting up once more, he walked forward, bringing up his arm and pushing it forward. Almost at once, it got rejected, stopping in mid-air from nothing. The barrier? Sora turned back around, blinking as he scanned the area. He had gotten every heartless! Why wasn't he going through?

"A little confused, I see." Sora stiffened at once, a chilling voice echoing from nowhere. Spinning in a slow circle, Sora tried to see where it was coming from, but it was in vain. He was in the only one in the clearing. And yet, the voice continued to speak. "That's natural of course. You're used to everything falling into place for you, and all you have to do is swing that pretty little key all around. It's like magic." The last word ended on a mocking tone, Sora's face immediately scrunching in anger. "But trust me, dear boy, that all will change soon enough."

Sora started, black portals appearing in a semi-circle around him almost in unison. Taking a hesitant step backwards, Sora watched uneasily as Organization members all stepped out calmly from the portals, footsteps seeming to echo as they did so. One was unfamiliar to Sora, but others he knew from looking at Jiminy's journal. Xigbar, Xaldin, Luxord, Saix, and one other man that Sora had never seen before. All he knew was that them being all here at the same time meant trouble.

Clenching his hand, Sora's keyblade shimmered into view, glinting in the light of the sun as he crouched down in a ready position. He grimaced determinately, gripping his weapon so tight that his knuckles turned white. The back of his mind screamed at him that he didn't have a lot of potions left, he had used most of them up when battling Demyx. But there was no going back. Xigbar and Xaldin were blocking his retreat exit.

"Look at that." Luxord scoffed where he stood. "He thinks that he can win this game."

"Five against one just doesn't seem fair, does it?" Xaldin presumed, face blank.

Luxord smiled slightly. "That's how you win a game, though." He stated. "You cheat."

"Everything is a game to you, Luxord." Xaldin sighed. "Can't it be anything else?"

"Stop bickering, you two." Sora looked over at the man he had not recognized, eerie yellow eyes meeting his own blue ones. "We have a job to finish, and we have to make it quick. Axel can only hold up for so long, and us standing here doing nothing will not help him."

Sora looked the group up and down. "Do you always say random stuff, or is it just always around me?" He asked sarcastically. It seemed that whenever an Organization person started to talk, their words were always lost on him. It was either that they had no sense whatsoever, or he was just missing something. But he didn't have time to say anything else before the five organization members drew their weapons and charged forward.

Gasping in shock, Sora dodged as Xaldin shot a lance at him, rolling on the ground and watching with panic as the lance stuck in the rock wall where his head had been once before. He had no time to recover before a sharp pain inserted itself in his arm, the boy gasping immediately as he shot up to his feet, eyes wide as he looked at his burned arm. Another laser shot out, striking the same place, Sora grunting as he dodged to the side from whatever had hit him.

He hadn't face these people before, he had no idea what to expect from them. But he would be caught dead before he let them win without a fight. Gritting his teeth together, Sora raised his keyblade, doing the same as he did with the heartless before as he spun in a tight circle, striking at least some blows on the men that were around him. It was a little victory, but at least he got somewhere.

Jumping in the air, Sora dodged a blow from Saix, a large claymore being the man's weapon. He willed himself to remember who's weapon was who's. Landing on the ground with a thump, Sora spun around just in time as he parried a blow from the man he did not recognize, large, laser-swords glowing in the teen's face. Grunting, Sora's feet shook as he pushed back on the man's swords, trying to keep them from striking against him with all of the effort he could manage. It slipped his mind of the others as he did all he could to keep the hot sword to touch him.

Another laser struck at him, burning a hole through his shirt easily and making his skin a blistery red. Immediately, he screamed, grip slackening only for a heartbeat. But that was all the man needed. Raising his sword, the man struck out at the boy, hitting him so hard that he flew backwards, landing with a painful skid on the ground. Immediately, a large card appeared right by Sora, the teen having no time to react before the card slammed down, knocking the boy to the side once more. Knocking against the wall, Sora squeezed his eyes shut, pushing himself shakily to his feet.

Blowing out a breath of air, Sora dashed forward, picking Luxord -who was closest- and swiping his keyblade at him with all the strength he could manage right now. The man grunted in pain as Sora fought blow for blow, but it wasn't long at all. The unfamiliar man rushed forward, knocking Sora away from his target and raining down blows on the teen. Gasping and yelling in pain, Sora lifted his key to try and defend himself, but immediately, Sora fumbled.

Xaldin threw his lances at Sora without a pause in his strikes, four lances digging themselves in Sora's skin with a painful burning sensation. Screaming, Sora staggered, the man knocking him forward like a golf ball with his sword. Falling to the ground, Sora grimaced into the dirt, digging his fingers into the ground with frustration. Trying to push himself up, Sora was flattened at once as a laser shot into his side.

Dropping down to the ground with a thump, Sora felt all of the energy he one had vanish in an instant. Trembling with pain and the effort of trying to get up, Sora could feel his fast heartbeat roaring in his ears. His vision shook, his mind was fuzzy. He couldn't get up and fight if he remotely wanted to in the back of his mind. Looking up, Sora flinched as something burned into his side once more, he didn't know what it was. Hands shaking, Sora's breath came in a panicked gasps as he shoved his hand in his pocket as fast as he could. His hand shot every way he could, trying to grasp the potion bottle he knew was in there somewhere. He might have touched it, but his effort was for nothing as Xigbar shot at him with his laser guns once more, Sora's hand shooting out of his pocket as he tried to shield himself somehow.

Teeth still glued together tightly, Sora felt the lasers recede until they stopped altogether. Closing his eyes, Sora let out a pained whimper, letting his hands fall on the ground with a small thud. Closing his eyes tightly, Sora tried to distract himself from the pain that was engulfing him, burning and stinging every inch of him. But the only other thought that would come to him was the thought of Donald and Mickey. They would be waiting for him, what happened now?

"Grab him, we have to leave before anybody sees." Somebody said lowly.

Feeling the collar of his shirt being tugged up, Sora tried to will himself to do something in response, to try and move. To break free. But his body wouldn't listen to him. Feeling himself being pulled backwards, he felt a flash of panic, hot as the laser that had burned him. Where were they taking him? Slowly, he forced himself into motion. Starting to move, he struggling away, yanking himself forward as he dug his heels into the ground. His keyblade was gone, he was too weak to try and get it to appear, but he didn't need it.

The grip on his collar tightened, voices muttering in the back fuzziness of his head. His movements got more rapid, more stronger. He HAD to break free. Thrashing and twisting, Sora found little strength in his fear. Pushing and pulling, Sora gasped as he felt hands grab his wrists, yanking him backwards, making him cease movement. His ankles were held too, the boy hanging suspended in the air, back facing the ground. His struggles would do nothing now.

Sucking in as much air as he could, Sora raised his voice as high as it could go, shouting for all it was worth, and hoping it would be enough. "LEON!" He screamed. Immediately, something heavy collided with his head, and everything went black.

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"LEON!" The man halted in his swipes, paused everything altogether as he froze, eyes widening. Yuffie stopped as well, turning and looking at Leon like her heart had just froze over. Even Axel stopped to listen as the scream echoed and bounced from the walls of the gully. Whirling around, Leon strained to see the cliff face in which he had left Sora. He couldn't make out anything, he was too far.

Turning back around, Leon saw that Axel's weapons had disappeared already. The man gave him a sly smirk, turning and looking back at the heartless that were no inches away. "Look like I'll take my leave here." He sighed. "Don't want to mess with any heartless. Far too annoying, you see?" And with that, the man vanished in a black portal, leaving the heartless to charge forward.

Completely ignoring everything around him, Leon whirled around, sprinting forward and charging back as fast as his legs would carry him. Yuffie and Aerith followed suit, the trio not bothering with the heatless. They were not even on their mind anymore.

As Leon came face to face with the wall of the cliff, he didn't hesitate as he started to climb. Panting, Yuffie helped Aerith up before her, pausing to jab a few heartless away with a deathly look. Scaling the wall, Leon hoisted himself up as quick as he could, feet making a loud thump on the ground. Brown eyes roving around in a panic, Leon didn't see anything.

"Sora?" He yelled, pushing off the ground and rounding the corner to see if the boy had made it up the ridge. But it was empty too. The boy was nowhere to be seen, it was empty. Absolutely empty. "SORA!" Leon yelled louder, listening for a yell back. But nothing came back to him. The place was just…empty.

There was nothing that even signaled the boy's ever being there.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for all of the favorites! I really appreciate all of them ^^

Sorry if the ending seemed a little rushed before. I went back and fixed it as best I could. Before, my sister was screaming at me to finish, it was a miracle I even got it out! Lol You should know that my sister will do that a lot. She likes the computer a LOT.

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Xemnas eyed the area around him with contempt, the man's forehead slightly wrinkled with thought as he paced forward. Thoughts mulling through his head, he relayed what he would say, knowing that he would have to tread carefully here. He wasn't in his own territory now. He was in the enemy's. Although his steps were sure-footed, he couldn't help but swallow back the smallest twinge of nervousness. He couldn't help but wonder how the others were holding up, he couldn't afford another mistake. It was enough having the boy call out for help.

In retrospect, Xemnas figured that he should have expected something like that to happen, but when planning, it never seemed to cross his mind. But nothing had changed really, except for the fact that it had been a more frazzled escape than Xemnas would have wanted. But Axel had pulled through -rather surprisingly- and they had gotten out of sight before the man that the boy had called out to had rushed to try and find him.

There was just one part left in the plan, and then it would actually proceed. It was the most difficult, Xemnas thought. It was the most important part, also. If they didn't pull this part off, it was all for nothing. Glancing to the side, Xemnas looked down into the gully, where the heartless were still milling around. But the heartless were slowly dwindling in their numbers, it was obvious that the people of Hollow Bastian were winning this fight. It would probably come to a close soon enough.

Sucking in a deep breath, Xemnas straightened somewhat, footsteps seeming to echo in the hallways of the castle. She had to be around here somewhere, he was sure that this had been the place where she had been staying as of now. After all, with all the heartless surrounding the castle, she must be inside. Stopping in his tracks, Xemnas glanced back and forth, not remembering the way out anyway. Opening his mouth, he was about to call out, when suddenly, a deep voice sounded from behind him.

"Who're you?" Xemnas started, turning around and looking with interest at the thing that stood in front of him. He hadn't known anybody else was staying with Maleficent, and yet there was indeed somebody standing in front of him. It was a large cat, a large…fat cat. Wearing a jumpsuit, it kind of looked like the people that followed the keyblade bearer around all the time. Shaking himself mentally, Xemnas fixed the cat with a fixed look.

"I'm looking for Maleficent." He said calmly. "Do you know where she is?"

"Maybe I do." The cat scoffed, looking the man up and down. "Whatdaya want with her? She don't take too kindly to strangers waltzin around here with no invitation." Xemnas raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what kind of accent this cat held. "And besides, she don't let nobody in here but me, cause I'm her assistant! So you'd better skedaddle, 'fore she-"

"I have a proposition for her." Xemnas sighed, irritated. "One I'm sure she would be interested in."

"Is that right?" The cat said in suspicion. "Well, I'm sure that she wouldn't-"

"A proposition?" A woman's voice said, coming from behind the large cat. It was a high voice, and raspy at that. It was a voice that would surely give young kids nightmares. Immediately, the cat shuffled backwards, ears laying flat against his head as he ducked his head slightly. Maleficent came out of the shadowy hall of the castle, black and purple robe brushing the ground and dragging behind her as she walks forward. She surveyed Xemnas with something close to disgust, nose wrinkled slightly as she did so. "What are you doing here?" She snarled angrily. "I do not make propositions with the likes of the Organization." The last word was filled with anger and hate, like it was a piece of trash. Xemnas fought to keep his face blank. "You have nothing of interest to me, get out of my sight." Maleficent continued. "I do not want to see you in my castle again, or you will not be getting off so easily." The cat shot Xemnas a smug look, something that the man tried to ignore to his best effort. Whipping around Maleficent started to walk away, her back facing Xemnas as she started back down the hall.

"I may have something of your interest now." Xemnas said, the with stopping for a moment, turning her head ever so slightly to look behind her shoulder at the man. Behind her mask of indifference, Xemnas felt a sense of triumph as he saw a flash of interest in her eyes. "I've just managed to capture something that I seem to know that you've wanted for a long time." This made the witch turn around fully, green eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at the man expectantly. Yellow eyes clashed with yellow eyes, and only then did Xemnas let his smile creep over his face. "I have the keyblade bearer."

Quite against Xemnas's expectations, the witch glared even sharper at him, green flames flaring up around her as she growled. "You are lying through your teeth!" She yelled, Xemnas blinking rapidly as she snapped. "An incompetent person like you could never pull off a feat such as that!" The flames dying down around her, she sniffed disdainfully, repeating her directions. "Get out of my castle, or I will make you get out."

"Do you want proof, you witch?" Xemnas asked, voice getting angrier the longer he stood here. He could see that even if he did manage to get her on his side, she would be a stubborn ally. If he could even call her that even. The witch merely looked at him with impatience, eyebrows raised. Sighing in order to get his temper under control, Xemnas twisted around, reaching into his cloak and withdrawing a small-looking object. "This is one of his possessions." He explained, holding out the charm.

It was a small star-looking object, a crudely-drawn face on the surface of the thing. "It was hanging off of the end of his keyblade. It fell off during our battle, if you could call it that." It was obvious that the witch was debating against herself right now, still refusing to get near the Organization leader, as if he had some sort of disease that was highly contagious. Blinking rapidly, Maleficent spun around, marching away and rounding a corner into another room.

The cat started, hopping from one foot to another and racing after her as fast as he could go. Which wasn't that fast, really. Standing alone for a moment, Xemnas scowled, pacing forward and trailing after the witch stubbornly. Why couldn't she listen to reason? It wasn't as though he would lie about something like that. The witch was obviously too stuck-up to look beyond her own nose. An obstacle, or an asset, was something that Xemnas had to figure out.

The witch had gone into another room that was rather small, with what appeared to be nothing in it as far as Xemnas could tell. The man was about to open his mouth and try once more to persuade the witch, when she came to a sudden stop in the center of the room, looking down and muttering words under her breath. Eyes narrowing, Xemnas took to standing in the far corner of the room, aware of the fat cat's eyes trained distrustfully at him.

As soon as the witch stopped mumbling to herself, drawing backwards and watching with complete calmness. Xemnas blinked rapidly as a small green light started to shine in the darkness of the room. Slowly, it got brighter and brighter until finally, Xemnas watched as small figures began to take place in the center of the green light. It wasn't anything like he had seen before, and yet the witch must control it, for the image was exactly what he had expected it to be. Walking closer now, he couldn't help but let a triumphant grin spread across his face. "You see?" He demanded. "I was not the liar."

On the surface of the green light, it showed the keyblade bearer and the rest of the Organization. What was LEFT of it, he thought with a curl of his lip. The keyblade bearer was limp, just as he had left him. Being dragged from the back of his shirt, the rest of the Organization were busying themselves with hauling the boy back to the Headquarters. Focusing more on the boy being dragged, Xemnas let out a low chuckle. He had finally gotten the upper hand on the brat.

There was a beat of silence before anybody spoke. And when they did speak, Xemnas was slightly surprised that it was the witch to be the first. "What do you want?" She growled, turning and fixing him with an angered stare, obviously on the verge of either killing him or actually considering his plan. And yet Xemnas let her hang for a moment, taking in her amusing expression, taking in the image of the keyblade bearer to his left.

And then his face broke out into a wide, malicious grin. "You can have your revenge on him." He said clearly, gesturing over to the image that still shone in the room, making the walls a grayish-green color. "Once I am through with him, you can have all of the revenge you want on the boy."

"And what do I have to do for YOU?" The witch asked when he paused. She was still glaring at him, clearly still not yet over her anger towards him.

Xemnas chuckled once more. "The one thing you can do that I can't." He answered.

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The heartless were slowly vanishing, it was apparent to each and every person that was fighting for Hollow Bastian. It was a subtle at first, but then the heartless were the ones retreating, vanishing in a black puff before you could even try and attack them. It was like water draining from a faucet, slipping away from you until finally, you turned the water off and stopped the water altogether. Somebody had turned the water off, the heartless weren't sending in reinforcements, and there weren't any left. It was a barren gully now, nothing except those who were surveying the area, perplexed on the sudden space that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Yuffie looked around, unable to feel any success at all in their victory over the heartless. She kept looking around, jittery, nervous, and confused. She couldn't focus on one thing, her fighting skills were those to match Aerith's right now. Hearing footsteps behind her, Yuffie whirled around, a large smile on her face as she did so. But her expression faded altogether as she saw Leon behind her. "Oh…" She couldn't help but let the word slip out of her mouth.

At Leon's expression, she shook herself, giving him a nervous smile. "No, wait!" She said anxiously. "I mean, I was hoping…I figured that you would have been somebody else. It's just that, I was sort of hoping…" Her words failed her once more. Shaking her head side to a side, she glanced up at the ridge, spotting the three fairies cheering and high-fiving. "…I don't know what we're going to tell everybody."

Being quiet for a moment, Leon shook his head. Reaching over, he tapped Yuffie on the shoulder, making the ninja become unbalanced for a moment, as she wobbled. "You wont have to tell them anything." He said gruffly, looking her up and down. "Because when we regroup back at Merlin's house, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, will all be there waiting for us. It was probably nothing, Yuffie. He was gone before we could get there, he probably handled the situation and moved on ahead."

She crossed her arms, looking thoughtful for a moment before she finally straightened, looking at Leon a little skeptically. "…Maybe." She conceded after a pause. Looking down at the ground for a moment, Leon watched her with arms crossed. Suddenly, the girl jumped up, a wide smile on her face already as she pumped her fist into the air. "Let's go back to Merlin's, then!" She shouted cheerily, turning around and streaking forward as fast as she could, taking off the ground with not a sound at all as she ran back to the Bailey.

Pausing for a moment, Leon glanced behind him to the cliff where they had heard the cry. Standing still for a moment, Leon gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes as he turned back. His words were probably true in their own. Sora was smart, he would be able to get out of a tight situation without much trouble. It was just heartless. He defeated Maleficent, and working to do it a second time. He didn't come this far to lose to a few heartless.

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The door flew open, Yuffie poking her head in with a large smile on her face. "Hi!" She cheered loudly, closing her eyes happily as she did so. The others returned her smile, cheers going around the crowd that was gathered inside the Magician's home. Stepping inside, Leon stepping in beside her, the door slamming behind them with a close. "Can you believe it, we actually won!" Yuffie said, her eyes blinking open, gray orbs already traveling through the crowd eagerly.

"It was a piece of cake!"

"Those heartless wont be showing up here for a while!"

As usual, Aerith was standing by with a tray of drinks. "Anybody thirsty?" She beamed, a large smile warm on her face. Leon deadpanned over at her, refusing to move from by the door. Muttering a small apology, Yuffie sidled over to move in between Cid and the computer, trying to see if the teen was possibly standing behind him with Donald and Goofy, but before she could look, she got cut short as Merlin came up to her, the old wizard looking down at her with strange concern.

"Yuffie, I have to ask you something, if you don't mind my asking." The old wizard ventured, tilting his head down at her. Pausing for a moment, she shrugged, giving her friend a smile as she nodded once. Taking that for a yes, Merlin cleared his throat, glancing back at the others, who were all getting drinks by now, and turned back to her before speaking. "I was wondering if you know where Sora is." The words sent a chill through Yuffie as the girl blinked. "Goofy and Donald came back alone, they have no idea where Sora has gotten himself. I figured he might have been with you." Glancing behind her, he spoke again. "Is he making sure all the heartless have gone?"

Leon picked up on the conversation over the cheers in the house, leaning against the wall as he listened in. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Catching the motions, Merlin frowned slightly, worry creasing over his face as his forehead wrinkled. Looking over the Magician's side, Yuffie spotted Donald and Goofy over in the far side of the room. They both were joining in on the conversations, but it was apparent that neither one of their minds were on the task at hand. Catching Yuffie's eye, Donald blinked as he looked over at her questioningly. Ducking away once more, Yuffie focused on Merlin.

"I have no idea where he is." She murmured softly. "The last I heard…he called for help."

Merlin seemed shocked, blinking rapidly, not exactly comprehending the girl's words. Before Yuffie knew it, the whole room had sensed Merlin's sudden change of mood, the whole room quieting as the crowd looked over at her. Yuffie sighed, turning to face the crowd fully. "Sora's gone. We don't know where he is. We're just as clueless as you, Merlin." She said, glancing back at the wizard. Goofy and Donald's eyes widened, the whole group quieted. Yuffie could literally see the party mood deflating like a balloon. Shaking her head, Yuffie explained once more. "He called for help…by the time we got there, he was gone."

Silence. Yuffie had never had a beat of silence like this. It pushed down on everybody's shoulders, it pressured each and every person in the room to slouch slightly. Typing on the computer paused as Cid looked over to the ninja, the girl's back facing the man as she looked down at the ground. Leon pushed himself off of the wall, walking forward and standing beside Yuffie as he looked the crowd in front of him over swiftly.

"Now listen up." Leon said gruffly, the group turning to look at him. Goofy looked crestfallen, worry and concern shining clear in his eyes. Donald didn't normally show his emotions, but even he looked sorrowful, his blue eyes slightly round as he looked at Leon. "We're not going to let this ruin our lives, because it wont get that bad." Leon went on, confusion taking over the group in front of him by now. "We're going to go out in search parties and we're going to find Sora. He can't be that hard to find, you can feel his ego twenty yards away." Pausing for a moment, Leon shook himself. "He has to be around here somewhere, nobody would have the guts to try and mess with a guy like him. He's smart. He can twist himself out of any kind of knot, and that isn't going to change anytime soon."

"I want to go out first." Yuffie said at once.

"Not you." Leon said immediately. "Cid can lead a party, not you."

Whirling around, she glared at Leon with anger. "I'm. Going. First." She growled tightly, hands balling into fists. Taken aback, Leon blinked, mouth hanging open. Turning back around swiftly, Yuffie clapped her hands together. "Whoever wants to come and help me, come on!" Turning around, Yuffie heading back to the door, throwing it open and stepping outside. Glancing back, she expected a few people to get up and follow her. That wasn't the case.

The whole room stood, minus the three pixies. Filing out of the house, eventually the group stood outside, looking to her expectantly. "Let's split up." She decided. "Half of you go with Leon, and the other half with me." Falling into their places, Yuffie looked at who she had gotten. She received Donald, Aerith, and Cid. "Alright, this'll be good." Yuffie said aloud, giving everyone a smile. "We're going to go down to the-"

"Yuffie." The girl started, turning as she looked at Leon with a tilted head. The man crossed his arms, looking sideways from her as he spoke in a small growl. "You know that if you're beating yourself up over this, you shouldn't. It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong."

Gritting her teeth, Yuffie glared once more at the man. It seemed she couldn't get him out from under her skin. "It's my fault." She growled over at Leon. "I was the one who left him alone, I should have stayed with him. I left him, and now I might not ever see my friend again." Pausing, she whirled around, stalking away. "I'm going to find him, otherwise I'll never forgive myself."

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A/N: I do NOT support the pairing Yuffie and Sora, that is weird. (no offence if you do…)

I actually support Leon and Yuffie! :D (hinthint)

…PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE TO HEAR FEEDBACK! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: You ever have that…horrible sensation where you spray air freshener all in a room. Then you go and sit down to type out a wonderful story. And then all of a sudden, you breathe in the…HORRIBLE tasting fumes of that air freshener? And then you just can't stop breathing it all in! And then you realize you were being stupid, and you start to breathe in through your nose? …that just happened to me. No joke. Pretty sad.

Anyway! Thank you for the new reviews! You have no idea how happy it makes me to read them! And the more reviews I get, the more motivated I get to update this story! ^^

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A mumbled groan came from Sora, the boy's eyes closing together tightly as his hand twitched at his side. Gritting his teeth together, the boy winced. Eyes blinking open, they stayed like that for about one moment before they closed immediately at that sharp light that cut through his vision. Shaking his head from side to side, Sora wormed his hands underneath his chest, pushing himself up slowly up he was kneeling down on the ground.

Reaching up, Sora rubbed his eyes roughly, opening them this time in a squint as he tried to get used to the blinding light that was around him. Dropping his hand that was acting like a visor on his forehead, Sora blinked more fully this time, eyes opening all the way. The light seemed to dim around him, it wasn't as bright as he had made it out to be, apparently. But that still didn't give an answer to where he was.

Looking around, Sora pushed himself up to his feet, albeit shakily. Pausing for a moment to gather himself, Sora straightened, turning in a full circle as he looked around him with confusion. He was in a fairly small room, the room completely white, nothing in it at all. There wasn't even any windows in it. Confusion ringing through the boy's eyes, Sora stumbled backwards, trying to remember what had happened to get him here.

He had been in Hollow Bastian…right? That was it! He was fighting the swarm of heartless, and then Leon went down to get Yuffie and Aerith. Suddenly, the boy went rigid, eyes widening to get as round as dinner plates. The Organization. The attack. Heart freezing in his chest, Sora slowly turned and surveyed the room over once more, taking a shaky step backwards. That was right…he lost. He…lost. He lost. He lost to the Organization and now…he was where?

Spinning around in a circle once more, Sora stifled a gasp that was bubbling up in the back of his throat, the boy's head spinning with surprise and shock. Shaking himself, Sora rushed forward, feeling along the wall for the door that would lead to the outside of the room. Finding the door, he reached forward quickly, trying the doorknob with a slight hope that it would actually turn. But his hope was in vain as the door refused to open. Yanking on it as hard as he could, it still didn't even creak open a little bit. Narrowing his eyes, Sora seethed with anger, his hands shaking and balling into fists as his side. Bringing his arms up as high as they could go, the keyblade bearer let out an angered yell, bringing his hands down as hard as he could on the door.

"HEY!" He screamed loudly, eyes narrowed into slits as he pushed his hands harder, banging them down on the door as hard as he could possibly manage. "LET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME OUT YOU…YOU…" Sora huffed angrily as he couldn't think of anything to insult them with. Glancing back behind him, Sora grimaced at the door, turning and rearing his leg backwards, striking out and kicking the door with a dull thump.

Nothing happened.

"ARUGH!" Jumping backwards, Sora pointed his keyblade straight out, gritting his teeth together tightly as he focused all his anger into the blade. At once, a fireball shot out, flying forwards and slamming into the door. Blinking, Sora leaned to the side slightly, letting out a frustrated and quick sigh as he realized it did nothing. "C'MON!" He yelled loudly once more, a larger burst of flame shooting forwards this time as he yelled. Forehead creasing with determination, Sora shot as many fire blasts as he could at the door, growing more rapid with each strike as he pelted the thing as hard and fast as he could.

It was a door, right? Normally doors gave away faster than this! Sora remembered dimly the time that Riku had accidentally knocked down his door when the two were playing Nerf Gun wars at his house! This was fire and it didn't make sense that it was taking this long for the door to give way. Eventually, he ran out of energy, panting as he lowered his keyblade with a metallic thud on the ground. "No way…" Sora breathed out, the door not even fazed at all by his attacks.

"That's not even possible!" Sora yelled, whirling around in a circle AGAIN -he was getting dizzy- as he looked around the room. It was empty. There weren't any windows, any cracks in the wall, not anything. "This doesn't make sense." Sora grumbled angrily, looking a little lost where he stood. "Maybe it's not-" His words were cut off as he stiffened suddenly, turning around and freezing as he saw the doorknob turn slightly.

Turning back, Sora's eyes skimmed the room rapidly once more. There had to be something, something that he had missed. And yet, by the time the door was opening slightly, he came up with nothing. Muttering out a word of frustration, Sora dashed forward, skidding silently on the ground and maneuvering around the door as he ran to the side of the room, flattening himself to the wall as he waited with a scowl on his face.

The door opened with a swing, nearly hitting Sora as he edged away rapidly. The person seemed a little surprised as they didn't see anybody, a small mumble coming from them as they started into the room. Sora's glare deepened as he realized it was Xaldin. Waiting a few mere seconds for the Organization member to take a few steps inside, Sora let out an angry yell. "YOU!" He screamed as loud as he could, his voice cracking from its use. Whirling around in alarm, Xaldin had only time to catch a small sight of Sora's angered glare before the door suddenly slammed back into his face.

Throwing himself against the door, Sora leaned back and slammed it as hard as he could, putting his whole body weight against it as it closed with a thunderous shutting noise. "GET OUT!" He yelled rather childishly, flattening himself to the door and making sure that his full weight was pressed against it. He didn't know where he was, but he was sure as he was standing here that he didn't want any of those people in here when he was too.

Bangs on the door nearly threw him forward and into the floor, but he righted himself quickly, pressing himself closer to the door with an angry scowl. Digging his heels into the ground, Sora twisted his head around to look behind him. If only he had had more time, he would have been able to have found a way out. Now that chance was ruined. But maybe…if he opened the door and turned quick enough…he WOULD be able to get out.

Blinking, Sora looked down at the ground with concentration, forehead slightly furrowed as he did so. His grip slackened somewhat, the teen feeling the door immediately coming open a little as he let more and more weight off of the door. Biting his lower lip, Sora closed his eyes, blowing out a breath of air slowly as he gritted his teeth together.

Leaning forward, Sora felt the door slam open at once, the boy landing expertly on one foot as he twisted around at once. Feeling himself buzz with anxiety, Sora charged forward, preparing to jump over whoever was in front of him, when suddenly, he staggered. He hadn't taken into consideration MORE than one person there. Hissing under his breath, he realized there were about three of them, which basically meant all of them.

Pushing himself, Sora pushed himself off the ground as hard as he could, leaping into the air and wildly his thoughts flashed back to his first time with the keyblade. What was that thing he did? Glide! How did he do that? How could he be so stupid as to forget how to glide through the air! He was almost over them, he could see a window on the other side of the room. Heart beating faster, Sora wildly thought with a triumphant smile, that he would actually make it. But then. Something caught his leg, the teen's smile fading at once to be replaced by a surprised expression. Feeling himself pulled backwards sharply, Sora slammed into the ground painfully, the boy's mind going fuzzy as he hit his head back against the ground.

Before he could gather himself back together again, he felt a hand on his shoulder, tight as he felt himself being yanked back up to his feet. "What did you think you were doing?" A voice yelled angrily at him, Sora too fazed to recognize who it was. After a moment's pause, he opened his mouth to make some sort of reply, but before he could, he let out a grunt as he was shoved back down to the ground again. Feeling his breath whoosh out of his stomach, Sora winced, pushing himself up with a pained grimace.

"…Put him in the room already." A voice growled angrily, obviously not amused by the boy's feat.

But immediately, another voice joined in, a little accusingly. "Xemnas hasn't told us to do that yet." The voice pointed out. "We should just put him back inside. It was stupid of you to even try and go in there in the first place, Xaldin. Try not to be more stupid than you can help."

"He's gonna do it anyway." Another voice growled. "If nobody else is going to do it, I will."

Nobody else spoke, the place going almost silent. Sora sucked in a deep breath, throat stinging as he finally got in his first breath. Just as he was about to get up and try to do something once more, but he was pulled up (AGAIN) with a surprised noise. If this was going to start to become a routine thing for him, he was going to explode. His hand clenched at his side to summon his keyblade, but his concentration got cut off as he started to get dragged backwards, the boy's feet slipping on the ground as he tried to stay rooted.

Whirling back angrily, Sora saw that the person dragging him was Xigbar. Looking back to the others, Sora saw that they were all watching with amused looks, as if they knew something he didn't. "LET GO!" He yelled angrily, twisting himself around and thrashing back and forth as he tried to break free. "LET GO OF ME AND FIGHT FAIRLY! YOU'LL REGRET BRINGING ME HERE, I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT!"

"I already do regret it." The man grumbled, not even glancing back at him.

Locking his jaw, Sora yanked his hand backwards, his keyblade appearing in his hand with a gleam of light. His wrist being held tightly by Xigbar, Sora turned sharply, raising his hand and bringing it down with a slam on the man's hand with a sharp glare at the Organization member. At once, Xigbar hissed loudly, whirling around and holding his injured hand gingerly. "YOU BRAT!" He yelled in Sora's face, the boy not even budging as he was screamed at.

Turning, Xigbar leaned over, grabbing the surface of what looked like a wall. But Sora was slightly taken aback as it actually turned out to be a door, leading into a room that seemed to stretch out for miles. Sensing something was wrong, the teen started to take a step backwards. But Xigbar was expecting that, as he reached out and shoved Sora inside the room with a thud.

Blinking rapidly, Sora whirled around, crouching with one knee poised on the ground. The door behind him closed with a slam, leaving the teen alone once more. "…what was the point in that?" Sora asked to nobody in particular, his voice echoing in the large room. Nose wrinkling, Sora looked around as his own voice came back to his ears, ringing in the spacious place that surrounded him. Looking to the side, Sora realized that he could at least see the other end of the room, quite in contrast to what he thought before. But it was pretty far, a room a million times the size of the one he was in before.

"…did they just move me to another room? What's with that?" Sora asked, his tone irritated. Getting to his feet, Sora scowled angrily, picturing the expression forever glued on his face. His friends always told him that if he made a face enough times, it would stick. Blowing out an angered sigh, Sora looked back and forth from one side to the other of the room, not sure what to do now.

Glancing down at the ground, Sora closed his eyes gently, kicking his foot forward and scuffing the ground with a noise that was amplified in the wideness of the room. Silence pushed down on his shoulders, Sora almost certain that if he dropped his keyblade on the ground in this room, it would make a sound almost as loud as an explosion.

Just as soon as he was getting bored enough to try it out and see, something flickered in the corner of his vision, Sora immediately turning around, gripping his keyblade tightly in both hands as he crouched down to the ground. Eyes narrowed, Sora growled under his breath as a heartless filled up in front of him, crawling out from a black hole in the floor. Its antennas wriggled as it turned to him, yellow eyes shining over brightly at him, almost eerily.

But he had grown a lot more since he was last afraid of these things. The sight of them only made his irritation flare these days. With their numbers growing larger, Sora no longer saw them as a nuisance to him anymore. It was more of an irritating thing that got under your legs and tripped you up. Giving a huff, Sora dashed forward, slicing through the heartless with one blow, the black shadow shooting across the room before puffing away into a cloud of smoke.

Straightening, Sora smirked. Was that the reason why they put him in here? If so, it was a poor shot. There wasn't anything here that he couldn't handle, and as soon as he figured a way out of this room, he would show it to the other Organization members quicker than they could say: "That was a stupid thing to do." Nodding once, Sora gave a small laugh, turning around and planning on where he thought the door was located.

But he froze at the sight that met him. Eyes stretching to be as large as dinner plates, Sora did indeed drop his weapon, and it did make a loud clattering noise, one that would send any other person wincing away from such a volume. But Sora was too fixed on looking at what was in front of him. It had to be almost as many Heartless as there were in Hollow Bastian before he left, all crammed together in the room as they charged forward, making progress towards Sora, who took a small step backwards.

Recovering from the shock, Sora narrowed his eyes, looking down and scooping up his keyblade quickly. Looking at the heartless with disdain, Sora held his keyblade so tight that his knuckles went white. "Let's do this." He growled, almost as if talking to Donald and Goofy, who would usually nod tensely after he spoke. As if he received the signal, Sora smiled, ducking his head slightly before snapping it back up. Leaning forward, Sora broke off at a full run, meeting the Heartless head-on as he slashed at the passing black shapes with all he had in him.

It was like a dome of heartless that engulfed him, Sora unable to see anything but masses of heartless surrounding him. Forcing himself not to think about it, the key bearer forced himself to calm down, to fight the surge of alarm that suddenly pierced into him. Shaking his head, Sora jumped into the air, spinning as he knocked aside several Flying Soldiers. Wishing desperately that he had magic, Sora lunged at the heartless, watching with hope as they vanished into the air. But his hopes were always dashed as nothing remained in their wake. Nothing like the bubbles that would usually help him regain his energy and spells.

"Clearly I have to look farther than my own nose." Sora grumbled angrily as he ducked and slashed. "I apparently have no idea what I'm talking about-" He hissed as a blow swiped low at his head, making him trip forward, the boy nearly falling as he regained what little balance he could muster. Wobbling slightly, he turned, eyes roving, as if trying to figure out where the blow had come from. But in a horde like this, he was almost a little saddened by the idea he thought he would be able to find out.

Cursing, Sora got cut as another enemy flashed by, pain sparking inside him as a long gash appeared on his cheek. "Will you all slow down!" Sora yelled, his blows getting faster and urgent the longer he lasted. But in a thick mass of wriggling, worming, running, black shadows, Sora's mind was like a bouncing ball as he tried to sort everything out in his head. "Goofy-" Sora faltered as the word escaped his mouth, the teen's eyes widening as he looked behind him. There was nobody there. There was nobody there to assist him into Drive. His stomach flipped and twisted, the boy completely stopping altogether in his attacks like an idiot as he stood alone. Was Goofy…wasn't he…slowly, it came back, and Sora gaped, blue eyes sparking with an odd feeling. How could he had forgotten?

The heartless poured in around him, striking him back and forth between one another like a volleyball. Sora yelled loudly as pain threatened to overwhelm him, the boy feeling a small warning in his head as he realized that he wouldn't last long like this. Suddenly, the boy controlled his flight, leaning over to the side as he rolled away from the mass of enemies. "It's all your guy's fault." He snarled, anger alight in his eyes by now. It was all their fault…Goofy…it was all because of the heartless. He remembered now.

"YOU'LL REGRET IT!" Sora screamed as loud as he could, pushing off the ground and throwing himself back into the fray. Anger renewed his strength, his keyblade a simple blur in the air as he attacked the enemies around him as hard and fast as he could. Fury, sorrow, grief, frustration, it was all there clear in the boy's eyes. He wasn't about to let the heartless off. Not anytime soon.

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He had lost count of how many heartless he had killed. If he had been counting at all. It might have just been passing thoughts, going to fast for him to grasp. But his anger was cooling, and it left Sora trembling under the new weight of the suddenly-heavy keyblade. Panting heavily, Sora faced the heartless on shaky legs, closing his eyes as he huffed for breath. He couldn't drink enough in, it felt like he was underwater. Sweat poured down his head, and the teen let out a small mummer as he realized that the heartless kept appearing.

For every one he killed, two other came back in place of it. It had been a loosing battle from the start, the beginning of the fight seeming a long way off suddenly. How long had he been fighting, exactly? He had held his ground for the longest time, he had no idea how long it had been. It couldn't be in the hours range…could it? He was tired enough for it to be that long. Or was that just because of the things that happened earlier than this?

Shaking his head, Sora started forward, trying an attempt to run as he dragged his feet sluggishly forward, the balls of his toes hardly coming off the ground as he made for his enemies in what he hoped was a menacing gait. But the heartless were not in the slightest bit afraid of his actions, watching him for a moment before they all dashed forward. Blue eyes stretching wide, Sora threw out his key, nailing a few with a style of pure luck.

But the other heartless seemed to be smarter as they maneuvered around the keyblade, Sora trying to jump backwards and try to parry their blows. But they were fresher than he was, the heartless swiping at him from both below and above. As their weapons made contact with his body, Sora let out a pained cry, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as they could go as he felt himself fly through the air. Landing on his side, Sora looked back up, alarm shining in his eyes as they heartless followed him, scampering closer on nimble legs.

One of the Shadows raised their clawed arm, being the first to leap on him, claws and yellow eyes flashing murderously in the room as they pounced on Sora. Others followed suit, Sora quickly being buried by the amount of heartless coming for him. Squirming, the boy tried to break free, but he didn't have enough strength to move an inch. The weight on his chest made him wince, unable to budge, lest even more pain shoot through him.

In his panic, his keyblade vanished from his hand, more heartless filling the space it had left faster than Sora could comprehend. Feeling defeated and beaten, Sora closed his eyes, the cold ground the only feeling other than the heartless by now. As the boy was buffeted around by blows and jabs, he could see the blackness edging his vision. Struggling, Sora twisting and squirmed, quickly loosing breath as the heartless climbed over his face, cutting off his air supply. Feeling his arms and feet growing tingly, Sora breathed out slowly, eyes closing gently as he felt himself relax involuntarily. Feeling himself slip away, Sora wildly tried to cling to something that would keep him out of the darkness, panic encasing him as searched for something that he could hold on to.

But he blacked out before he could figure out what image he had grasped.

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A/N: I've actually fought for hours on the game. It takes magic to cure, potions, and a girl how is too afraid to get near the monster. :3

Sorry it took so long to get this out ^^ I was listening to Accidentally in Love while I was typing this, and I couldn't stop laughing for some reason. A reason you will have to find out later in the story. ANYWHO. I know there's been a lot of passing out, this is the last time I'm pretty sure. The story will indeed pick up soon. Next chapter or something. And then you'll have to hold onto your hats, cause it'll be a wild ride.

BTW: This was the part when Goofy 'dies' Sora never really got to the part where Goofy is all "IM OKAY! :D" In case you were confused~

Please review! I wanna hear from all of you, and we need to get that review count up! If I get a lot of reviews, it makes me quicker to update! (hinthint)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVEIWS! My eyes nearly popped open as big as dinner plates when I saw the number of reviews after I uploaded the new addition! So thank you, all of you! It really made me excited to make the new chapter. Except I had friends over last night, so I couldn't really update then. ANYWHO, I should get typin.

And yes, I did use the same introduction by Axel, because I love him XD

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Xigbar leaned against the door , arms crossed over his chest as he glared irritably at the ground. In the time that had passed, Luxord had left, leaving only Xigbar, Xaldin, and Axel standing in front of the room. Having lost track of time, Axel remained standing against the wall across the hall, glaring angrily at Xigbar. Again he spoke up, rolling his eyes to the side at the same time. "Xemnas is going to have your head." He mused, Xaldin glancing over at him at the words.

Xigbar hesitated after a moment, snapping his mouth closed and turning his head so that it faced the door behind him. He shrugged after a pause. "It was Xaldin's idea." He muttered, the Organization member jerking with surprise as his name was mentioned. Axel deadpanned as the two started to argue in front of him, the red-haired man obviously debating whether or not to bash his head against the wall.

"Well, I'm just saying, when Xemnas finds out what you guys did without asking him first, I don't want to be here." Pushing himself off of the wall, Axel sighed through his nose lightly, turning and looking down the hall. Where had Luxord gone, anyway? He started forward, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the castle. It had gotten more and more silent in the large building as more and more people of the Organization were killed, an obvious fact, of course.

At the thought, Axel stopped suddenly, blinking as he twisted around to look back over his shoulder. Listening for a moment, the Organization member felt a flash of surprise go through him. Turning back fully, he rushed back over to Xigbar and Xaldin, the two raising their eyebrows at him as he came to a stop, looking intently at the door. "What?" Xigbar asked gruffly, looking him up and down. "I thought you said-"

Without even bothering to respond to him, Axel shoved him away from the door bluntly, Xaldin merely watched, eyebrows still raised. Pressing himself close to the door, Axel pushed his ear against the wood, not even paying attention to the twin looks that the others were shooting him. Axel narrowed his eyes, straining for a single amount of noise in the room, but nothing came up to him. Whirling around, Axel advanced on Xigbar, pointing an accusing finger at the man's chest. "It's too quite in there!" He snapped angrily, nearly shouting.

When the Organization member didn't respond, Axel raised his voice even higher. "How long has it been like that?" He shouted, moving his finger to point over at the door. "Do you know what Xemnas would do if he-" Suddenly, Axel stiffened as he heard footsteps behind him, straightening and turning around slowly. Xemnas stood at the end of the hall, eyes narrowed into slits as he took in the sight that he had walked in on. Blinking, Axel took a few steps over to the left, away from the door as he shot a look at Xigbar.

A little ways behind Xemnas stood the witch that they had gotten on their side, her yellow eyes discriminative as she looked at the men in front of her. Nose slightly wrinkled, Axel could basically hear her thinking that they were all idiots. Thinking about it now, Xemnas had the same look on his face. "What is going on here?" He asked, his voice a small whisper. Although he didn't yell, it would have had the same effect. "I believe that you were under strict orders to do nothing until I came back."

Axel winced inwardly. He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped as a noise came from the other end of the door once more. Starting with surprise, Axel turned towards the noise, green eyes slightly wide as he did so. Sensing the movement, Xemnas closed his eyes for a moment, thoughts seeming to be written all over his face. After a moment, he opened his eyes once more, turning back to Maleficent. "Call off your heartless." He said firmly, a question or a please not even hidden in his voice. The witch scowled in response, turning swiftly and marching away, head held high smugly. Axel heard her mumble something inaudible as she walked away, obviously cross. "Axel." The man turned at his name, Xemnas already walking away, the opposite direction from Maleficent. "Fetch the keybearer." He said, turning the corner. "Send him back here."

As soon as Xemnas was gone, Axel sighed heavily, turning and shooting the others a furious look. "Great." He growled through clenched teeth. "Now I have to pick up your guys' mess." Walking forward, Axel reached out, gripping the doorknob tightly. Listening for a moment, Axel realized that the noises in the room had picked up once more. Whatever had happened before, it was over now.

"What're you waiting for, Axel?" Xaldin sneered, Axel's eyes only darkening. "Hop to it."

"You guys give me a headache." Axel growled, twisting the knob and cracking the door open a way as he peeked inside. Blowing out a puff of air, Axel slipped in through the crack, shutting the door a little louder than he meant to. The sight inside was a little more than surprising, the man keeping to the wall as he hid his bewilderment. The kid that looked so scrawny to begin with was everything but that now.

Although he had injuries lining his arms and legs, Sora was like a blur as the boy dashed back and forth, his keyblade even less than that as he slashed and stabbed through the heartless that approached him. The black beings were disappearing faster than Sora could get to them, though. Maleficent had indeed listened to Xemnas surprisingly. The brown-haired boy stopping in his attacks as he realized the fact. Staggering slightly, Sora watched as one by one they started to vanish, the boy immediately falling down and sitting on the ground, panting loudly as he tried to catch his breath.

For somebody so worn out, that was a close to perfect display of fighting. Shaking his head to clear it, Axel lifted his hand, flames flowing out of the glove and spreading around the room. The bright orange wave swept past the last few remaining heartless, the room completely empty by the time the flames died away. Sora was still sitting in the center, blue eyes surprised as he looked around, confused. Finally, his eyes landed on Axel, and before the man could do anything, Sora scrambled to his feet, keyblade still in his hands as he dashed forward.

Eyeing the boy as if he were a pesky child, Axel stepped to the side just before Sora could reach him, the boy only hitting wall with a thud. "What, no thank-you?" Axel asked sarcastically, green eyes irritated as he watched Sora peel himself off of the wall. "It's the least you could give, of course. I just saved you the trouble of those last few heartless."

Looking at the keybearer expectantly, Axel waited for him to reply. Sora didn't. The boy stayed where he was, crouched in a defensive position as he waited for the first strike. Looking at Sora in front of him, Axel couldn't help but feel a small lump in his throat. Those burning blue eyes narrowed in anger, looking at him with the utmost of hatred and loathing. The familiar blue eyes, haunting almost as Sora glowered at Axel.

Axel was shoved out of his thoughts as Sora spoke up. "Who are you?" He asked, slightly breathless. The question took Axel back, before he remembered that he had never come face to face with Sora like this before. Figuring that the boy would already know his name was a stretch, although that had been the thought originally.

"Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" The man scoffed, crossing his arms.

Pausing for a moment, Sora glanced out of the corner of his eye at the room around him. "And what the heck was that for?" He asked stiffly, turning back crossly. But the boy straightened somewhat, as if he figured that Axel wouldn't do anything to him. His hands dropped to his sides, standing upright as he looked at Axel's face. But his eyes still showed distrust as he looked at Axel cautiously.

Axel stood still for a moment, not entirely sure how to respond to it. Glancing back out the door, Axel rolled his eyes as he figured the others would be listening in on what was going on in the room. "Let's answer that another time." He said bracingly, reaching over as he tried to grab Sora's arm so that he could lead him out of the room.

Reacting in less than a second, Sora pulled backwards as if slapped. "Don't touch me." He growled through his teeth, raising his keyblade in defense once more. At once, Axel cursed mentally. He had just been getting somewhere with this kid, and now he was right back where they had started.

"Come on, Sora." He said in exasperation, reaching forward once more and just managing to grab his shoulder. Sora jerked as Axel pulled him back closer to him, grabbing his other shoulder as he started to steer the boy backwards towards the door. "You're going to make this a lot more difficult than it needs to be!" Sora rooted his heels into the ground, feet skidding on the ground as he tried to stop himself, tripping forward as his actions failed. "I just gotta-" He stopped as Sora started to twist, wrenching Axel's arms painfully as they folded together. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Axel asked, Sora doing some sort of dance moves as he tried to get free. "WHATEVER IT IS, IT ISN'T WORKING! STOP IT!"

"No!" Sora yelled stubbornly, blue eyes determined as he jumped and lunged. Axel was surprised he was still able to hang on to the teen. It was like trying to hold a stick of butter or an ice cube tightly, slipping all over and making you frazzled. "Let me go!" Sora yelled, ducking his head and leaning backwards, Axel buckling forward at the sharp movement. "Let go!" Sora yelled again.

Axel could see his patience wearing thin.

Finally, he could take it anymore. Fixing his arms rapidly, Axel brought Sora close to his face, glowering down at the teen with all of the anger he could muster. Sora must have sensed the sudden change, eyes growing bigger as he went still. "WILL YOU JUST STOP, ROXAS?" Axel yelled in Sora's face, the boy wincing away from the volume.

As the words both registered in the minds of the two, twin looks were reflected on one another's face. Eyes widening, silence measured in the room, scuffling audible on the other side of the room. Shaking himself, Axel recovered before Sora did, turning swiftly and yanking the boy forward, a small protest coming from the keybearer. Throwing open the door, Axel glared at Xaldin and Xigbar. Xaldin was hiding a smirk behind his hand. Xigbar merely looked at him intently, not smiling or frowning. His face was blank as he studied Axel, not at all amused by the exclamation.

Scoffing under his breath, Axel turned, letting go of Sora for a moment as he reached over and grabbed the back of his neck. Still steering Sora, Axel turned the corner, feeling a little odd now that Sora wasn't fighting back. Looking down at the boy from the corner of his eye, Axel saw with a curse that the boy looked confused, a little loss as he looked at the ground. He had slipped, and he wouldn't be forgetting that in a hurry. He had lost his cool, something that he would be watching carefully from now on.

Coming to a stop, Axel faced the room that had been designated for Sora's place to stay. The teen looked up, seeming to realize that he had allowed Axel to lead him anywhere the man wished. Immediately, he scowled, turning and pushing Axel off of him roughly. Eyes narrowed, Sora stalked forward, too smart to try and run away again as he threw open the door. Stepping inside, Sora slammed the door as hard as could. It was so hard of a slam, that the sound echoed in the room, making Sora smile with affirmation.

Turning back around, Sora was about to go and try to find someplace to sleep -he was exhausted- but he stopped at once, freezing. At the corner of the room, the Organization member he did not recognize stood, arms crossed over his side. The heartless yellow eyes bored into Sora's blue ones, seeming to root the boy to the ground as he stopped in his tracks. "…Who are you and what do you want?" Sora finally asked, hands balling into fists at his sides.

"I've come to greet the new addition to the team." The man said, ignoring Sora's question as he smirked. His tone was laced with venom and dark humor, something that made Sora twitch where he stood. But the words sent a thrill of anger through him, red-hot as he glared angrily at the man. He felt his face grow warm from the sudden change in mood, picturing it color in his whole face. Catching the change, the man laughed lowly and darkly, finding amusement in the boy's rage. "Of course, I'm very rude." He said, waving it off dismissively with his hand. "My name is Xemnas."

"I'm not a part of your stupid Organization!" Sora exploded. "If you think differently, you must be stupider than I thought!" Watching the man, Sora fought back a smile as the man immediately soured. Pressing his luck, Sora laughed under his breath. "You must be desperate for SMART people in your group, huh?" He jabbed, watching the man's eyes slowly go into slits. "Getting a little tired of the same old idiots running around?"

"I would suggest you stop talking before you make me do something I'll regret." Xemnas growled thickly.

"Well, that's scary." Sora said dramatically. Pausing, Sora added a little darker. "You can't do anything to me. Whatever you're planning, it wont work. I wont do anything that would help your group. I would never stoop to your level."

"Ah, but you will." Xemnas promised, vexing Sora as the teen made a face. Pushing off of the wall, Xemnas strode forward, the smile that had faded a moment ago stretching across his face once more. Looking at his expression, Sora swallowed a lump in his throat, feeling uneasy as he backed away slightly. "If you don't want any more harm to come to your friends, that is." As soon as the words escaped the man's mouth, Sora's blood ran cold, the teen halting all movement entirely. "Hmmm. Have I struck a nerve with that one?" Xemnas mused.

"Y-You can't do anything to my friends." Sora said slowly, voice still uncertain despite the words he spoke.

"Is that a challenge?" Xemnas questioned, raising an eyebrow at the unmoving child. "What was her name again? Kiari?" Sora gritted his teeth together tightly at the words, a small 'tsk' noise coming from him, almost like a reaction. Relishing in the shocked state of the keybearer, Xemnas chuckled. "Such a darling little girl, isn't that right? …It would be such a shame if something were to happen to her. Isn't that right, Sora?" Hands clenching at his sides, Sora ducked his head, looking down at the ground with wide eyes.

Suddenly, the boy snapped his head back up. "My friends will come for me!" He yelled, his hand coming up to press against the space in his chest over his heart. "You wont get away with this, my friends will come and save me before you can even think about hurting anybody!"

"Ah, your comrades." Xemnas sneered. "The little duck and the dog, am I mistaken? They wont be coming for you any time soon, young man, perish the thought." Sora blinked, shoulders drooping slightly as confusion lit up his eyes. "The dog is dead." Sora jerked backwards, as if slapped. "He died by a falling rock…isn't that heroic, hmm?"

"…Donald." Sora winced, fearing the next words the man spoke.

"He was too easy." Xemnas laughed. "Frankly, I wondered how you could have made it the whole journey with him, he is quite a poor fighter. It took a few seconds, really." Reaching out suddenly, Xemnas grabbed the front of Sora's shirt, pulling the boy up and forward, looking into his eyes with malice. "The duck is dead, and so is your little dog."

"You're lying!" Sora yelled, voice cracking.

"It would be no use to me." Xemnas sighed, letting the boy fall back to the ground. "Face it, you're little lackeys are both gone. And even if they weren't, they wouldn't be capable of coming all this way to save you."

"…The king!" Sora yelled, still sitting on the ground. Looking up, Xemnas noted the light shining in the boy's eyes. If that was all it took, Xemnas wondered how in the world a small child like this had been such a real problem to them ever since now. "The king would never be beaten by you."

Xemnas laughed at this, turning and making his way for the door. He held his head high, opening the door and pausing for a moment. Laughing once more, he turned to face Sora, the boy not having moved at all from the ground. "Do you really think that the king cares enough about you to come here?" The boy blinked at his words, face falling uncertainly as he looked up. "No matter which way you go, it points back here." Xemnas said bluntly. "So rethink your actions of not doing what we say. You might slip up a little."

And with the door closed with a click, leaving Sora alone.

Leaving Sora more alone than the boy had ever known before.

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A/N: Sora's like: …The crap?

Anyway, hope you liked this wonderful chapter. Had to cut it a little short so I can go to the hospital and visit my grandpa. He just had knee surgery, so there's that~

So anyway, please review! I've had this guy spamming me for a long time, so I'm sorry that I had to take off blank reviews. Hopefully those of you who don't have an account can make one, it's really easy to make one, and you can PM people and all that jazz.

So…yeah! Hopefully I'll get a lot of reviews for this chapter! Go ahead and kill Xemnas too! I'll watch with popcorn~


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Whew. Sorry I wasn't here for a while, but know that I've been reading every single review very happily! BTW: Last chapter I said something about taking off blank reviews? Well, you can ignore that. There was this spammer guy really annoying me, but I'm just gonna ignore him now, and just delete all of his comments. No big deal XD

But you know what is so funny? When you get your entire lunch table to sing 'Swim this Way' REALLY loud. You should try it sometime, it's like having an epic little corner party~

And St. Iggy, I loved your review~! Thank you! ^^

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A light noise drummed against the walls of the room, a soft signal that rain was coming down outside. But of course it was a trivial little fact, one that didn't give away anything that really mattered. Like what time it was, what day it was, how long he had been there. Things that mattered went as a mystery to Sora, at with every second that passed, the keybearer felt the tug against his heart. Being in the room alone for such a long time -it felt like forever- was making him jittery, looking over at the door periodically with the same scowl on his face. It actually probably would end up sticking to his face. But it wasn't like he could do anything else.

Perhaps wasting all of his magic in one go wasn't such a good idea, now that he looked back on it. There could have been smarter options compared to that. But hopefully this option would work NOW. As he had thought of before, there had to be some other way out of his room than the door over on the other side of the room. It was a fact that he refused to put down, because really it was all he had as of right now.

Sidling around the room slowly, Sora's palms were pressed against the wall, the boy pausing every other second to crouch down and feel along the whole side of the wall, searching for a small indent or anything along the lines that would signal a door or a vent. Anything that would provide him with means of escape. Hoping that his instinct would indeed ring true, Sora scaled the walls as he inched along the room, tongue sticking out slightly as his eyes strained for a small crease in the wallpaper.

He had no idea how long he had been doing this, but as long as he'd been inching through the room, he was now on the opposite side of the door on the other side of the room. This task at hand had surprised him somewhat, usually it was hard for him to focus on one thing for a long time. But it really wasn't running through his head right now. The tapping of the rain outside was giving him a headache, also making his hands get faster as he glanced over at the far wall. The questions running through his mind was enough to make him scream.

But suddenly, his hand was stopped by something, going over a small fold in the wall. Sora jumped, startled as his eyes widened. The boy drew back, as if the wall was hot to the touch. Eyes flickering up and down, Sora's heart immediately shot to his throat as it suddenly slammed into him. It was a way out..? It was a way out. It was a WAY OUT! Glancing over his shoulder, Sora bit his lower lip, scanning the room around him rapidly as well. There wasn't any kind of video cameras around here on the wall, right? There didn't look like there was, but it wasn't as if they would be out in the open.

Shaking his head roughly, Sora swung back around, gritting his teeth as he dug his fingers into the crease of the door, hooking them under the hidden door and trying to pry it open. He would just have to act fast, he supposed. Seconds slipping away from him like grains of sand, Sora shut his eyes tightly, putting his feet against the wall and bending his knees. Securing his fingers in the middle of the crease and the wall itself, Sora paused for a moment to glance over at the door once more.

It was clear. Blowing out a huff of air that made his hair flutter up in front of his forehead, Sora squared himself up, and pushed off of the wall as hard as he could. But surprisingly, the wall flung open rather easily. Flinging backwards, Sora lost his grip, shooting backwards and slamming headfirst into the wall as he flew across the room. Sinking down to the ground with a thud, Sora hissed in pain, one eye closed in pain as he sat up stiffly. Raising his hand up, he rubbed the sore spot on his head roughly, the throbbing in his head only increasing with the added injury. The incessant sound of rain wasn't exactly helping him either.

Raising to his feet determinedly, Sora growled at the ground, waiting until the pain in his head lessened to a small trilling through his head. And still nobody came in, which kind of set the boy off a little bit. But nonetheless, Sora started forward at a clumsy run, already forgetting his worries as he raced forward, a small smile worming its way on his face as he reached over for the door and threw it open. Slightly surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier, Sora realized it had been partially hidden by the wallpaper. It was meant for people who knew the building, probably. The thought would have made Sora roll his eyes before, but he didn't even bother. He was going to get out.

Breaking into a run, Sora rushed into the doorway, exiting his room with a wild sense of freedom that he had never felt before. Not quite as real as this. Blue eyes light and dancing, Sora was so happy he didn't notice where he was going. That is…not until he ran face-first into a wall. Smacking into the wall, Sora came to a complete and sudden stop, nearly breaking his neck in the process. Grimacing into the hard surface he had run into, Sora pushed himself back rapidly, staggering as he blinked rapidly.

He needed to watch where he was going. There was a permanent-looking bruise on his forehead from running into walls. Wincing, he rubbed at the injury, confusion ringing through him as he looked where he was, trying to gather himself without much difficulty. For a moment, he took it to be a lot brighter than he had expected to be outside, considering he could have sworn he had heard rain outside. But then he realized with a fading grin that the sky was a ceiling. And there were walls around him instead of fresh air. And a toilet beside him.

"What?" He growled under his breath, turning and looking the shower next to him critically, his gaze supervising the thing with probing eyes. "..WHAT!" He repeated, stamping his foot down on the ground with as much force he could manage. "Where is this…a bathroom! Why is there a bathroom?" Frustration welling up inside him, Sora felt heat rush up into his face, turning his cheeks a prink pink as he turned his glare to the toilet he had crashed into.

Sighing through his nose, Sora looked down at the ground, feeling his recent happiness slowly slipping away little by little. But suddenly, there was a sudden muffled laughter, Sora whipping back up with a somewhat confused face. Turning stiffly, Sora grimaced at the door that led out of the room he was stuck in, the laughter seeping through the wood and reaching his ears as a soft, almost stifled noise. It was obvious that they weren't trying that hard to quite themselves.

Sora supposed that he shouldn't have yelled that so loud for them to hear.

But it was still enough to dig into his skin irritably. Clenching his hand tightly at his side, Sora turned, reaching out and slamming the bathroom door. As the sound reverberated around the small place, the keybearer's face fell slightly. Was this the best he could do? Slamming doors in an attempt to close himself away from the reality of his situation? It was all he had been doing so far, was anything going to change?

Eyes narrowing, Sora locked his jaw back. He had no idea what day it was, how long he had been here, and what the others wanted with him. He had no idea if Xemnas had been lying to him when he spoke of the death of his friends. He had no way to prove the man wrong or not, and the way things were going now, he would never find any way out either. Thinking back to after the fight with Demyx, Sora felt his stomach churn uneasily as he remembered Goofy's fall. He couldn't forget that. And he had no idea about Donald…the King…Leon, Yuffie…and even Kiari.

Looking up, Sora realized with satisfaction that the laughter had died away. That just left him standing alone in the middle of a bathroom alone looking like an idiot. But at least he looked like an idiot in private, then. A faint wondering started in the back of his mind, about what would happen if he never did get out of here. If what Xemnas said was true…would there even be anybody else to notice he'd been gone? He thought of all the times that he and Goofy had laughed together so long that their sides started to split. How he and Donald always broke into fights over anything and everything possible. The memory made a small pang of sadness to shake him, but it also made him feel a small sense of happiness. Even though back then it annoyed him every time they broke into a fight, he would give anything right now to go back and do it over again. But, he wouldn't do that…unless…

Sora opened his eyes with a snap, straightening with a bright smile that he hadn't shown ever since he had last seen Yuffie turn and go down the cliff face during the Heartless battle, which felt like a million years from now. But that was it, that was what he needed in order to get out of here. It was the one and only thing he could think of to do right now, but thinking about it now, it would be most effective.

Reaching up and pulling a hand through his hair, Sora let it slap back down to his side. Thinking back to Donald, he remembered how much he annoyed the duck, even though the fate of the world was in their hands, Sora still managed to tick his friend off no matter what he did. No matter how serious the situation.

"Alright, Xemnas." Sora said aloud, distaste and contempt alight on the last word of his sentence. Tilting his chin up into the air, he drew in a breath and gave a small nod. Reaching forward, he grabbed the doorknob, pushing open the door and facing the other door directly across from him. It wasn't very far, it was a small room. But still, Sora felt like there were miles between him and the way out. But that would change, he would make sure of it.

"You want the keybearer?" Sora said, quieter now, in fear of being heard. "Then you're going to get every single part of me, whether you like it or not." Keyblade appearing in his hand in a flash, Sora gripped it tightly, feeling the familiar texture of the weapon in his hand. Having left marks on his hand from its many times of use, the keyblade was like a missing puzzle piece, fitting in with his hand perfectly. "You'd better prepare yourself, Xemnas." Sora said, eyes narrowed. "You'll end up regretting the day you brought me here."

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Breathing a little heavily, Yuffie huffed for breath, leaning over for what seemed like the millionth time as she looked through the Bailey completely, not leaving one small corner unchecked. It had been that way for the past few days, the whole gang following her lead and turning the town upside down for their lost friend. Although nothing had shown up for their efforts, it wasn't like anybody else was going to give up. Everybody was working, even Donald and Goofy.

"Hey." Yuffie started at the voice, rising from her crouch on the ground. Turning around, Yuffie blinked rapidly with surprise as she caught sight of Leon, the man leaning against the wall as he eyed her. "You know, you've searched this place at least five times before now. Why do you keep coming back?" The question was meant to be kinder, but the way Leon spoke it, Yuffie couldn't help but be slightly offended.

"He could have moved." Yuffie said, crossing her arms over her chest a little tighter.

"…Are you sure we're doing the right thing here?" Leon asked, obviously knowing the way she would react as he spoke a little hesitantly. Yuffie glowered at him as soon as he started, staring at him in silence. It was so quiet, Yuffie could almost hear Goofy and Donald doing their search below in front of Merlin's house.

"So you're saying that it's exactly like Sora for him to leave without Goofy or Donald?" Yuffie challenged steadily, turning around and pacing away, eyes roving around the Bailey slowly, taking in every inch of space. "For him to leave without any word, leaving everybody looking for him? Goofy and Donald told me that the Gummi Ship has been untouched, so it can't be normal like you're saying."

"There's more than one ship." Leon pressed, trying to will himself patience. "All I'm saying is that it IS like Sora to get ahead of himself. To act without reason sometimes. And you see what good its done so far, right?" Yuffie shot him a glare, but Leon still went on. "And anyway, you're making it sound like he's a kid that doesn't know what he's doing. Granted, it does seem like that most of the time. But he can be smart, Yuffie, and you seem to be skipping that fact."

"Me and everybody else here." Yuffie said, suddenly blunt. "Everyone but you seems to be okay with searching for him. So what's different about you?" Face falling somewhat, she looked at him with something close to sadness. "Do you not care?" She asked, her voice dropping so that it was barley a small whisper. "Do you not care that Sora might be in trouble?"

"Of course I do!" Leon yelled, his volume rising so quickly that Yuffie jumped slightly. Looking her up and down, Leon sighed, drawing back. "Of course I care about him, I'm looking for him with everyone else, right? I'm just asking you to think about it for a minute, alright?" Yuffie huffed, still glaring at him icily. Trying his best to ignore it, Leon rolled his eyes. "Sora can be known to jump into things without knowing the consequences, right?

"What if he went off to try and find his friends? What were their names…Riku and Kiari? The King's original orders were to do exactly that. He might have come to his senses that we could handle things and went off. He might not BE HERE, Yuffie. Have you ever thought of that? He might be in another world and took one of the other ships to get there."

"But-" Yuffie cut herself off before she could speak. There were many flaws in that explanation, she could tell already. But Leon was trying -rather unsuccessfully- to calm her worries over her missing friend. But nevertheless, it didn't make it for her at all. It showed he supposed, Leon shaking his head slightly as he pushed himself off of the wall. He opened his mouth, but before he could, Goofy and Donald entered the doorway rather quickly.

For a moment, Yuffie thought they had found something, but disappointment caused her to deflate as they turned up empty-handed. Obviously, they were getting to be as frustrated as Yuffie was starting to feel, the ninja eyeing their crestfallen expressions, although Donald's was much better hidden than Goofy's was. Leon seemed to be expecting them, the two expecting him to speak, as they stopped beside him, looking at the man steadily.

Yuffie started to call out a greeting, but she stopped as Leon spoke without waiting for her. Fighting the urge to glare at her friend, Yuffie took to standing aside, listening with an irritated look on her face. "Sora isn't here, that much is obvious." Leon said, in his usual gruff manner of talking. Goofy and Donald exchanged glances, but did not interrupt. "Since you can't keep going on your quest without Sora and the keyblade, you two need to search in the other worlds for him. Before anything else like the heartless can happen to any other worlds." Pausing for a moment, he added. "You'd better leave as soon as you can. Without Sora, the other worlds will be defenseless. You can't take your time with this one."

"Right now?" Goofy asked, looking around aimlessly. "What if-"

"You heard 'im!" Donald squawked, turning over to Goofy and giving a nod. "We gotta go find Sora! The King will be waiting for us to meet up with him, we can't show up without him! Come on, Goofy, let's go to the Gummi!" Voice laced with lisps, Yuffie just barley caught all of what the duck had said. It must have taken Sora a long time to sort out how to understand his sidekick without difficulty.

"Wait!" Yuffie yelled, reaching out a hand to stop them from walking away. As the two travelers looked back at her questioningly, Yuffie let out a small sigh. Pacing backwards, and dropping her hand to her side, Yuffie gave them a bright smile. "Tell Sora hi when you find him. And, if you catch word of him out there, call us and catch us up."

Leon raised his eyebrow at her, but Yuffie ignored it completely. Goofy smiled sloppily. "Sure thing, Yuffie!" He laughed, giving her a rapid wave as he turned and trotted away. Donald gave her a nod, having to run to catch up with Goofy as the two retraced their steps. Yuffie watched them go, the small smile remaining on her face until they rounded a corner and disappeared from view. Giving a small sigh, Yuffie looked around, suddenly not able to see why she was still doing this. "I'm going back to my apartment." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she did so. She was bone tired, dark circles under her eyes. She could have slept for a year if given the chance.

"I figured you would have asked to come along." Leon said, stopping her in the doorway as she hesitated. Glancing back around at him, Yuffie blinked, not saying anything back to her friend, just staring back at him blankly. She didn't know how to respond, frankly. Leon shook his head, giving her a crooked grin. "Go sleep. You've been all over today, you're really starting to get annoying."

At this, Yuffie let her smile show, her lips tilting up in an amused expression. "Just saying that, I might stick around to annoy you some more." She teased lightly, feeling a lot lighter than before. "…You're probably right." She said suddenly, her mood vanishing as she looked at Leon differently. "He's probably in another world and fine, right? I don't have anything to worry about." Without waiting for a reply, Yuffie shook herself, turning and starting away. Looking over at the castle in the distance, Yuffie walked a little slower, looking down into the gully with observant eyes.

"The yell, though…" She shook her head. "It could mean anything. This is Sora. Even if I did leave him to help Aerith…he'll be fine…" She kept walking, forcing her thoughts to another subject. What was she going to cook for dinner tonight? She couldn't remember if the market was open today or not, she didn't remember what she had to cook at her house.

Leon stood where he had been left, but he had heard everything the ninja had said to herself. One hand in his pocket, Leon closed his eyes, breathing out a huff of air from his nose. Although he had been the one to reassure Yuffie, the man felt a sense of guilt weighing like a ton in his chest. "You didn't leave him, Yuffie." He murmured under his breath. "…I left him."

The man did not believe one word that had come out of his mouth.

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A/N: Hmm…what does Sora have planned? Something fun for me to write, let me promise you!

The new way of searching for Sora is obviously key, you'll have to remember that for later chapters! :D

Sorry for the short chapter, I feel bad for hogging the computer, because I don't want to be mean and pushy (like my sister can get sometimes) coughcough.

Anyway, I shall update tomorrow IF I get a lot of reviews! ^^

I hope this chapter was just as good as last chapter. Got the idea when my friend shoved me into the bathroom and wouldn't let me leave for about a good ten minutes. :/

Quite boring. I have weird friends. Don't even ask why she put me in there.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a repeated process. A repeated process, and a long one. It started about twenty minutes ago, Sora could roughly tell. But it was effective, Sora could tell that much. Blowing out a huff of air, the boy raised his leg for the millionth time, kicking out and slamming his toe into the door as hard as he could manage. Doing this two more times, Sora let out an angered huff, leaning forward and ramming his fists down on the door with loud thuds. "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!" He yelled as loud as he could, voice growing somewhat hoarse from its use. "COME IN HERE AND FIGHT, YOU COWARDS!"

Pausing for a moment, Sora heard grumbles outside, fights breaking out among whoever was guarding him. They were quickly growing in volume the longer he did this, it was louder than it had been two minutes ago. "I BET YOU COULDN'T GET IN HERE AND FIGHT ME! I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU TRY! I BET IT WOULD BE HILARIOUS!" Cursing himself mentally as his voice cracked on accident, Sora cleared his throat, wincing slightly. Shaking his head to clear it, Sora straightened, getting ready to kick out at the door once more.

But suddenly, it swung open, knocking him backwards from the force. Staggering, Sora blinked rapidly, seeing Xaldin right before the man slammed the door behind him. Stooping down, the man grabbed Sora's collar, yanking the boy to his feet with less of an effort than Sora had expected for somebody to lift him so high he barley touched the ground. Dangling and touching the ground at the same time, Sora smirked over at the man that held him. "Can I help you with something?" He asked blandly.

"Don't play like this, you idiot." Xaldin snarled, shaking Sora so hard that the boy's head spun like a top. "I know what you're trying to do, and let me tell you, it's a pretty pathetic performance." Sora twitched at this, but he clamped his mouth shut, taking to glaring defiantly at the man, lips pursed slightly. Catching the look that the boy threw him, Xaldin growled under his breath, bringing Sora's face even closer to his own, their noses almost touching. "You heard Xemnas before, if you try anything funny, you'll surely regret it."

It was obvious that the man was loosing his control. That was what Sora needed right now. Pushing down the twinge of fear and panic that shot through him from the last sentence, Sora merely smiled, coming out more like a grimace, really. "Aw, I'm touched that you actually care about my feelings! That's so sweet." He deadpanned at Xaldin, tone turning bitter at the last word. "Anyway, I know you can't hurt me, you're all talk. If you hurt me, I know you'll get into trouble. So why don't you put me down? After all, all you do is do the dirty work that people tell you to do."

Xaldin growled louder, grip tightening on Sora's shirt as the cloth around it wrinkled deeper. Sora looked caught off guard, almost able to see the steam leaking out of the Organization member's ears. The thought gave him a mental image of the scene, the childish boy unable to resist it at all as the corners of his mouth tilted up in a wavy smile. Caching himself, Sora tried to make his face go blank once more, but he couldn't. Face breaking into a large smile, Sora's shoulders started to shake with suppressed laughter, causing Xaldin's grip to slacken somewhat as the man drew back a fist, ready to hit Sora across the face.

Sensing the lack of strength, Sora wrenched himself free of Xaldin's grasp, pushing himself down full force as hard as he could, landing smack dab on the man's foot. Jumping off with just as much force, Sora shot backwards, regaining his balance in a split second as he straightened, fixing his shirt dramatically. "Whoops." He said, watching as Xaldin staggered slightly. "Mistimed my landing. What are the odds?"

"Oh, I'm really gonna…" He let himself trail off, looking at Sora with daggers.

"Gonna what?" Sora asked, letting all silliness aside as he glared at his enemy with just as much hate. "What are you gonna do?" He raised one eyebrow questioningly, still not moving. He was as still as a rock, anticipating the movement that Xaldin was surely thinking over, and readying himself to retaliate it as fast as he could. His stiff posture obviously showed his plans, determination filling Xaldin's eyes as he seemed to accept the challenge.

Quick as a flash, Xaldin's lances appeared at his side at once, shooting forward like a missile as they aimed for Sora's chest. Gasping sharply, Sora twisted around, ducking low to the ground in a split second. The move was too close, the wind washing over Sora as the lances flashed over his head, feeling them strike through his hair in a whoosh. Cursing himself mentally, Sora leapt back up to his feet, his hand shooting down at his side with a sweeping sense of familiarity.

Keyblade shooting into view, Sora dashed forward, maintaining his grip on the weapon as he charged for his enemy at full force. Trapped by enemies of a large scale, Sora could never dream of defeated all of them at once. But if he could just pull off this feat…if he could just pick them off one by one until there was one left…he could actually stand a chance. He could actually make it out of here. It was a pretty basic plan, and it was a very flawed plan at the same time. But Sora wasn't one to dwell on those kind of facts. If he saw an opportunity, he would take it without question.

Raising his keyblade, Sora let out a loud yell, swinging with both hands as he knocked Xaldin aside with one blow. Leaping forward, Sora attacked with all he could, all his desire to leave, all his desire to be free. Feeling his keyblade strike his target rapidly, Sora gasped for breath, blue eyes narrowed in slits as he felt new energy flood through him. He felt his keyblade give a small spark, blue eyes widening as he looked down at the weapon. Xaldin took his chance, throwing out his hand and smacking Sora away, the boy falling and skidding on the ground painfully.

Hissing through clenched teeth, Sora pushed himself back up, ready to attack once more, when his eyes flew open with surprise. Like crawling out of a pool of black tar, shadow heartless were morphing off from the ground, yellow eyes beaming over to train on Sora, the black beings twitching and writhing around on the ground, standing around Xaldin in something that looked like a line. It was as if…Sora's jaw set backwards. "You can't control the heartless!" Sora yelled, coming out like a child calling their playmate out as they broke a rule in tag.

"For once, you're right about something." Xaldin grunted. "But we have somebody on our side who does." Not able to relish in the shocked expression on Sora's face, Xaldin hurled a lance right at the boy, Sora only snapping back to reality when it was too late. The blade sunk deep into his arm, the boy immediately having to bite his lip to keep back a yell of pain. Reaching up, Sora grasped the end of the weapon, tearing it off of him with a pained yelp, throwing it to the side. One eye closed in pain, Sora blew out a huff of anger, eyes burning as he glared at Xaldin and the heartless.

What did he mean, somebody on their side? The only person he had known to control the heartless was Maleficent…but she hated the Organization! Sora knew that much already, and he had barley even seen her ever since he killed her. She ran her own show, if you will. So why would she come over on this side? It HAD to be her, Sora couldn't think of anybody else to use the heartless except for Pete. Pete was…well…too STUPID to pull something like this off.

Jarred out of his thoughts, Sora dodged another lance coming at him, the boy being knocked right onto a heartless, which lashed out on impact, claws scraping along Sora's back painfully. But the good thing about Shadows was that they were easy to kill. Flipping over, Sora swiped his key at the thing, watching it disappear instantly. Looking up with a snap, Sora braced himself before he pushed off the ground, racing forward and striking at all of the heartless around him as he went. "Tell me!" Sora yelled, jumping up into the air and throwing his keyblade onto Xaldin with an expert aim. "What are the Organization trying to do in keeping me here?"

"I wouldn't waste my breath on someone like you!" Xaldin grunted, knocked aside by Sora's rapid blows. The man was showing injuries already, something that Sora caught sight of with a hopeful spark in the depths of his eyes. Landing on the ground right in front of Xaldin, Sora twisted, keyblade turning into a blur as he continued his attacks. Unable to tell whether or not his target was regretting starting the fight or not, Sora narrowed his eyes. He would make Xaldin regret it, he had promised himself that. He had promised himself that he would make this plan work. And he kept his promises.

"You're the one who needs me here!" Sora yelled, words ending in a gasp as he lurched to the right, avoiding another stab from the lances. "What do you mean, you wont 'waste your breath!' Frankly, considering that you went to all the trouble to capture me, you obviously have SOME intention! And since I'M the one you need, I really think that I shouldn't waste MY breath on YOU!" Sora hissed, a heartless rearing up and digging claws into the back of his head.

Shaking it off roughly, Sora spun around, smashing his keyblade into the ground and right through the small thing with a slam. "One again…YOU GUYS ARE ANNOYING!" He yelled angrily, almost ready to explode from frustration. Where did the heartless keep coming from anyway? It was obvious that the other Organization members did not know of his attack, otherwise they would come in and help their other member! Sora was winning the fight so far, and there was no help. So what, did they have a mind of their own here? In a place with a group of Nobodies, Sora actually would not be surprised at all. Except it didn't really help his case very well that way.

The heartless were like little bugs, all rushing forward in a cloud to try and attack Sora, basically scrambling over one another to do so. This room was not big at all, it wasn't really small like a closet, but not really big like a field. It made fighting hard, and walking even more so. But the heartless parted for Xaldin, the man found no obstacle in the heartless being there at all. But Sora was getting the full blow of it all. Frustration making him tremble, Sora raised his keyblade in the air, letting out a sharp yell as he felt the weapon shake in his hands.

"GO!" He yelled loudly, Xaldin stopping for a moment in confusion. But as a reaction, the keyblade lurched to life, lightning shooting out of its tip and sparking forward, jagged lines of the line shooting through all the heartless around him. It was a much more powerful spell…and a lot more uncontrollable. Sora's own eyes snapped open with shock, the boy wavering slightly as his hands shook. Lightning filled the whole room, turning the space a bright shock of yellow. Sora watched in something of amazement as all the heartless around him faded away on impact, hearing Xaldin let out a pained scream as the magic spell shot through him. It was a while seven seconds before the spell stopped, but it might as well have been two years. It dragged by, Sora's face not filled with wonder, but with terror. He stood in the center of the room, eyes wide and mouth slightly open, the keyblade above him unable to stop in its lightning fury.

By the time it was done, Sora staggered, his keyblade falling to the group in a heap, as the boy felt like doing as he swayed slightly where he stood. Eyes dull, Sora looked down at the weapon, hearing his shoes scrape the ground before he even realized he was backing up. Where had it come from? Where in the WORLD did it come from? Feeling his knees shake, Sora looked at the weapon like it was a foreign thing to him. Like he was…afraid of it. And he was. The whole place showed of it. The charred walls, the blackened spots on the floor. "What did I-"

Sora was cut off immediately, screaming at once as he felt something rip through his back. Xaldin's lance struck through painfully, Sora unable to move with the complete shock of the attack. His back was to the man, he didn't see the Lance shoot at him. Before he could do anything, there were more Lances, flying at him full speed, the boy jerking rapidly as each one found its bulls-eye. The Lances disappeared, only to come at him once more, the boy trembling as he was stabbed more times than he could count.

Finally, he was able to stagger around to face Xaldin, Sora's face pinched with pain and determination. Reaching out hesitantly, the keyblade shot back into his hand in a flash, Sora started forward, much weaker now than before. Blood dripped down from his back, staining the ground a dark scarlet red. Like paint against a canvas. Staggering, Sora stopped, turning wildly and reaching into his pocket, hand groping as he tried to find the potion that was in his pocket. His last potion. But he hesitated- did he really want to use it now?

It had to be now, his vision was trembling where he stood. Sora felt his hand graze over the bottle, and his heart froze with relief. "Sorry, kid." Sora started as Xaldin spoke, shock writing all over his face as he saw the lance coming for him. He braced himself for the impact, but instead of hitting his body, it hit a millimeter over it. Sora gasped as the Lance struck through his clothes, catching him off-balance and making him stagger backwards. More and more lances launched themselves at him, making him back up until he realized too late that was what Xaldin was planning on. The Lances dug themselves into the wall, sticking so tightly through his clothes, that Sora was pinned. Starting to struggle, Sora looked down at his pocket vainly, his hand unable to reach down anymore. He was doomed.

He can't kill me. Sora watched as Xaldin pushed himself painfully forward, the lightning leaving black marks along the Organization member's skin. He can't hurt me any more than he already has. Sora's feet scuffed against the ground as Xaldin came closer. They couldn't have just brought me here to kill me, right? Xaldin came to a stop in front of him, glaring eyes digging holes through Sora's own. I'm going to die.

I'm going to die.

One Lance was all Xaldin had. One Lance was all he needed. Raising his last weapon, he watched with dark humor as Sora eyed it, panic alight in every feature of the boy's face. Catching the smile on the man's face, Sora immediately pushed down the fear and pain, narrowing his eyes and forcing a smile on his face. "I don't think you're gonna do it." Sora said, voice strangely light. "I don't think a guy like you has the guts. You're a follower, not a leader."

"You're going to mock me? Look at the spots we're standing in." Xaldin scoffed, unfazed.

"All I see is one person standing there and not doing anything." Sora spat, glaring sharper now.

Fuming by now, Xaldin stooped down, pressing his Lance against Sora's neck, the boy immediately flattening himself against the wall, gasping sharply as he closed his eyes. Pain rang through every inch of him as the blade was pressed against him, and he felt his footing on the ground slip. If he were to slack and lean forward, it'd all be over. And yet, he felt his foot sliding forward, loosing his footing, getting nearer and nearer.

"WHAT THE-" The slam of a door interrupted both of them, Xaldin lowering his Lance at once, as though he were a child stealing from the cookie jar. Sora slumped forward, blowing out a huff of air he had not realized he'd been holding. The brunette turned to see what had interrupted them -saved him- and blinked, straightening as a look of bewilderment set over his face. Axel stood in the doorway, green eyes wide as he surveyed the room and its rather-destructed interior. In his hands was a tray of food, something rather odd, but not odd enough to draw Sora's attention away from Axel, who's eyes found his blue ones almost instantly. "What's going on here!" He exclaimed loudly, shock and surprise coloring his green eyes sharply.

"He was asking for it." Xaldin growled, throwing the boy a withering look. "Literally."

Sora only tilted his chin up rather proudly, despite the fact he was pinned to a wall with five lances and bleeding rather freely. After a moment, he looked back at Axel, the man's face obviously not amused at all. "Xaldin, you know that we are not supposed to do this exact thing! What are you doing, trying to kill him?" When Xaldin did not reply, Axel fumed, stalking forward and shoving Xaldin out of the way with a lot more force than Sora had expected Axel to use. The red-haired man stared at him for a moment, the two locking eyes the odd way they always did when Axel looked at him, it seemed.

Breath coming in pants, Sora tried to control his breathing, one eye closing as a sting of pain shot up his side. He didn't want to be rude or anything, Axel had just saved him from sure death. And yet the man was just staring at him, seeming to be lost for words. Finally, Sora broke eye contact, hoping that would be enough as he ducked his head down, closing his eyes. It did the trick. "Take back your lances, Xaldin." Axel said stiffly, not a question obviously. "Now."

The weapons dissolved into the air, a little reluctantly at least. Sora was caught off-guard, falling forward as he tried madly to catch himself. Axel stooped down, catching his wrist before he could slam down to the ground, pulling Sora backwards and helping the teen regain his balance. Blinking, Sora turned and gave Axel a strange look, not even thinking about his manners right now. He snatched his hand away roughly, turning away from Axel and glaring at the floor, which bore stains of red.

"Xemnas is going to hear about this." Axel told Xaldin sternly. Xaldin grumbled back, glaring hatred and loathing at Sora's back, the boy leaning against the wall in an effort to stand up straight. The boy was unaware of the look, wincing as he pressed a hand tightly against his side. He was about to find the bottle again, when suddenly warm hat rushed through every inch of him, spreading all the way from his head to his finger tips. It wasn't an uncomfortable heat, it was nice and soothing, almost like a massage as the teen closed his eyes, letting his shoulders relax as he let out a small sigh.

When he opened his eyes once more, he was healed, not a scratch on him. Blinking, he turned back, seeing that the others were leaving him already, Xaldin already out the door. But Axel paused at the last moment, looking back at him. Sora's forehead wrinkled, did Axel do that? But the man only jabbed a finger back at the tray of food on the ground before he slammed the door behind him.

Turning slowly, Sora pushed himself off the ground, energy fully back in him as he took long strides to sit down in front of the food. Looking down at his keyblade, Sora felt his heart worm its way into his throat. Raising his weapon and pointing it at the food, Sora imagined a small wave of heat to come out of the tip, to warm the food that was obviously not cooked right. "Fire." He whispered, even his words soft as he breathed out the word.

But he immediately lurched backwards, eyes flying open at the blaze of fire that shot from the end, ramming into the ground with the sound of an explosion. The fire melted the tray, dissolving the food into nothing. The ground burned and hissed underneath, obviously going black and charred. Sora heard loud noises outside the door, heard bangs on it as if people were trying to get him to stop.

But Sora only stared at the tray with wide, shaky eyes. Watching his spark of magic change into an inferno.

A/N: Go check out my poll! :D

Hope you like the chapter, and I hope I get a lot of reviews! ^^


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry for the break, I was at my grandmother's house. She lives in the country, so I couldn't very well update. But every time I was bored (which was a lot) I thought of the new addition to this story, so you all were in my thoughts! ^^

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Sora's breath came in rapid gasps, the boy's eyes filled with anger and frustration. In front of him, yet another charred tray lied on the ground in front of him, sizzling and burning the ground underneath it as it sat upon the white ground. Snapping his head back down at the keyblade, Sora felt fresh anger rise up in his throat, stinging his eyes and burning his face a bright red. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" He screamed, not caring if anybody heard him. Raising his hand high in the air, Sora threw the keyblade down on the ground as hard as he could, closing his eyes at the sharp clanging sound it made against the hard floor.

Sora turned to shift his glare down at the food, now charred and burned beyond repair. It shared the fate of his other trays that had been delivered. "Why can't I get it right?" He asked in exasperation, closing his eyes tightly. "Merlin told me my magic was nearly perfect." Crouching down heavily beside the blackened spot, Sora rested his head on his knees glumly. "Without magic, it'll just be one more thing I wont be able to use to get out of here." A heavy sigh escaped his lips, the boy switching around so that he could sit down fully.

A sharp noise sliced through the silence, a beam of light making his face shine in the dim room. Sora didn't say anything as the keyblade reappeared in his hand, only tightened his grip on the weapon, something that was a force of habit for him. Ducking his head, Sora let out a slow aigh, narrowing his eyes to slits when he opened them once more. Standing up, Sora gritted his teeth together. Raising his foot, he stomped out the last embers of the fire, blowing the ash away impatiently.

It had been days since the fight with Xaldin had passed, and Sora could slowly feel his patience rushing away from him like he was an open dam. Cursing under his breath, Sora eyed the scrapes and bruises lining his arms and legs. Passing a glance behind him, Sora pictured the small shadows that seemed to lurk everywhere around the building. Every day Sora would get tossed into that same white room, heartless immediately turning on him. He never knew how long he fought, but it left him sapped of energy every single time. He didn't even have the strength to try and break free when the Organization members dragged him back to his room.

All in all, he had gained no knowledge of why he was here, and he wasn't showing any means of escape so far. All he knew that his magic was all out of whack, and he had no way of knowing the reason for it. Studying the ground for a moment, Sora felt a pang of both sadness and anger. Had nobody noticed he was gone yet? And if they did, were they even doing anything? It's been…DAYS. Probably more than a week. Sighing heavily, Sora glowered across the room at the wall. Did nobody find there was purpose in trying to find him? Surely they would have found him by now.

A creaking behind him made Sora jump, the boy leaping to his feet and scooping up his keyblade in a rush. Turning a full circle, Sora aimed the keyblade at the intruder, eyes narrowed angrily. He was gripping his keyblade so tightly, that his knuckles turned white, his hands seeming to burn as he held on as tightly as he could. As he realized who it was, Sora felt a flash of panic as he felt himself relax almost instinctively. Axel eyed the boy as Sora tensed up once more, more purposefully this time. "What now?" Sora growled angrily.

"Now, Now." Axel said lightly, waving his hand dismissively. "No need to be so hasty. What would you do if I just wanted to come in here for the heck of it? What would you do if I just wanted to talk with you in here?" Sora didn't reply, refusing to put his keyblade down. As if he didn't need a reply from the key bearer, Axel went on. "You'd feel guilty, that's what." He answered for him. "You'd feel so bad because by the time I leave, you're going to be lonely once more. You'd wish I would have stayed here to talk to you."

"I would like that." Sora said mockingly. "If you weren't so annoying."

"Granted." Axel crossed his arms over his chest. "But that doesn't give you the right to be so rude. Didn't your parents teach you to be nicer?"

"Nah. Instead they taught me not to follow strangers to their houses." Sora growled tightly.

"Well, you should have listened to that one a little better, right?" Axel laughed.

It was meant as a joke, and in other circumstances, Sora would have thought it was funny too. But it only made him scowl. "You'd better take that one back." He snapped irritably. He made a move to leap at Axel, when suddenly, he gasped sharply, hands burning as he dropped the weapon with a clatter on the ground. Hissing, Sora shook his hands back and forth, as if trying of put out the imaginary flame he'd felt sting him. Axel watched, an eyebrow raised as if Sora was an animal at the zoo doing something stupid. Of course, he was doing something stupid-looking, but that was beside the point.

"Are you okay?" Axel finally asked, making a move to get closer.

Immediately, Sora took a step forward, meeting him in the middle as he stood a few paces away from the Organization member. "Don't." He growled thickly. "You may think that you have me fooled, but you don't. You were one of the people to bring me here, and don't think I don't know that, because I would be an idiot if I didn't. If you think that being nice to me will make me warm up to you for some reason, you're really mistaken. So you might as well stop pretending to be Mister Nice Guy, because you're on one side of this fight, and I'm leading the other side."

Narrowed blue eyes pierced into Axel's green ones, the man stiff where he stood. Patience getting the best of him, Axel glared at the boy. "You don't seem to be doing a lot of leading from here." He commented, feeling a surprising twitch of surprise at the satisfaction he felt when he saw the expression of sourness come over Sora's face. "And you're not leaving here any time soon, so you might as well deal with it and come with me." He made a grab for Sora's hand, expecting the teen to object to going back to the heartless, but Sora merely looked at the ground and followed.

The boy's expression was that of thought, filled with an idea that Axel both did not care about, and did not want to know about. His only job was to bring the boy to the white room, that would be enough for him. Most of the others knew already, but Axel hardly didn't want to admit to himself that dealing with this sort of thing was not fun at all. He didn't get the same kind of pleasure the other's got from having the key bearer finally theirs. It had a reason as well, but he didn't want to think of it. All he needed was for Xemnas not to figure it out. Then he'd be in boiling water.

Shaking it off, Axel grabbed hold of Sora's arm, leading the boy out of the room and through the hall. A tense air hung between the two, but Sora didn't seem to notice it as much as Axel did. The red-haired man had a look of utter annoyance and frustration on his face. There were no words to describe how much he would rather be doing anything else right now. Eventually, they made it to the door, and Axel let himself let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Without pausing, he leaned over, opening the door and ushering Sora inside with a shove.

The boy started to say something -probably along the lines of an insult- but Axel slammed the door, face red as he flopped backwards on the wall, green eyes narrowed to slits. "There you are!" Rolling his eyes, Axel looked down the hall, wincing inwardly as he saw Xaldin and Luxord swaggering over to him. It had been Luxord to speak, the blonde-haired man having a smile on his face as they came to a stop beside him. "So you actually handled it on your own, did you?" The man chuffed. "I would have thought you would have trouble with that one."

Axel glowered. "Hah-Hah." He said sarcastically. "Don't you have a checker game to go waste your time with, Luxord? Don't waste mine."

"It doesn't look like you're the busy right now." Xaldin sniffed.

"When it looks like I'm doing nothing, I'm actually doing eight different things at once. You'd best not distract me, because it takes a lot more concentration than you think it does." Axel threw them a withering look, obviously granting them permission to leave. But of course the other two did not get the hint, staying standing in front of him and not showing any signs of budging.

"Then I guess you don't want to hear what we know." Xaldin said invitingly.

"That's right. Now leave me alone." Axel sang.

"Huh. We'd just thought that you would be interested." Luxord said.

"But I guess you don't care." Xaldin sighed.

Axel twitched. It was like they were children singing that song: 'I know something you don't know.' It was rubbing him the wrong way, and Axel defiantly wasn't in the mood for anything. He just wanted to go back to his own room and sleep for a year. "Just tell me before I make you burst into flames." He snarled, actually liking the idea of the two burning much more than finding out whatever garbage they were talking about. He was close to doing so when Luxord spoke up.

"Xemnas is planning on trying to reawaken Roxas." Luxord said, serious now. Axel blinked, pushing himself off the wall with surprise shining in his eyes. He hadn't expected that one. "Xemnas said that it would be much easier to reawaken Roxas and have him fight willingly than have to force Sora to do so." He paused and then added. "It would also get us one extra member to be with us, which isn't bad either, considering Sora would still be out of the picture."

"Then what's the purpose of putting Sora in there now?" Axel asked, confused as he glanced behind him.

"Xemnas isn't sure what he's going to do." Xaldin answered this time. "He might not even try and bring Roxas back. It might be a waste of energy for something not worth it. Roxas DID leave the Organization before. Sora is still going to fight the heartless while he decides." After a moment, he added as an afterthought. "Oh, and Xemnas is in there too." He added, nodding towards the door. Axel started, looking back over his shoulder with a flash of panic.

"Don't worry." Luxord growled, as if sensing his alarm. "Xemnas isn't going to kill him."

Xaldin chuffed with laughter. "Unless the brat gives him reason to." He laughed.

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Sora staggered, regaining his balance before he could fall to the ground. Whirling around, Sora opened his mouth to yell back at Axel, having been roused from his thoughts by the uncalled-for shove. But the door slammed back into his face, Sora jumping with surprise at the slam. Blinking rapidly, Sora huffed, lips buzzing from the sigh. "Let's get this over with." He muttered under his breath, turning slowly as his keyblade appeared with a gleam in his hands. It had cooled by now, a flash of relief going through him at the fact.

But relief turned to horror as he turned and saw the people waiting for him at the end of the room. Xemnas was there, standing up straight with hands clasped behind his back. He had a large smile on his face, yellow eyes gleaming with a different kind of humor as Sora's blue eyes met them. But it wasn't so much the Organization leader that frightened him as much as the woman standing beside the man.

Maleficent eyed him with the same dark humor, watching the boy's stunned gaze travel from Xemnas and then back to her. It took a few moments that felt more like a year, but Sora finally pushed down his emotions, stomping on them repeatedly in his mind. Recovering himself, Sora smiled. "Well, don't I feel special?" He asked, still refusing to put away his weapon. "I didn't know I was so popular."

"It seems with all the wrong people." His mind whispered, but Sora brushed it away.

"Idiot." Maleficent snarled angrily, eyes narrowing. As she did so, an unnatural cold settled in the room, Sora having to suppress a shiver. Was it just him, or was there frost on the ceiling? Trying his best to forget it, Sora felt his own eyes narrow. Crouching down to the ground, Sora lifted his keyblade, standing in a defensive position, obviously anticipating a fight as his eyes flicked back and forth rapidly.

"There'll be no need for that." Xemnas spoke up. Choosing the smart choice and not listening to him, Sora stayed where he was, teeth growing sore as he grounded them together nervously. Eyeing him for a moment, Xemnas took a deep breath, getting to business before he wasted too much of his time. "It is time you know what you are supposed to do in staying here, so that you wont be so much of a pest."

"Doubt it." Sora said off-handedly.

"You are to kill every single heartless in this room whenever it is required for you to do so, is that understood?" Wiser than before, Xemnas went on without waiting for an answer. "When anybody wants you to report here, you will do so without a fight, you will come straight here, then come back. And when you are finished, you do right back to your room. No detours."

Maleficent flashed the man a look, but did not say anything. If she thought this plan he thought would work was as stupid as Sora did, she wasn't showing it as much as Sora was. The boy's eyebrows were raised, the boy straightening with his hands on his hips. His blue eyes were filled with disbelief, and the emotion showing in his eyes openly said: "You think that's going to work, do you?" But Xemnas ignored it.

"You are to no excuses lash back at the people of the Organization, and you are to follow instructions at all times, no matter how ridiculous. Under absolutely no lines may you try to escape or leave in any way. You are to be silent and obedient, no more, no less. If you violate any of these rules, severe punishment will be issued, and let me assure you, whoever will inflict it upon you will not hold back, am I clear?"

At this, Sora narrowed his eyes, frowning at Xemnas and not replying. As if he took it for a yes, Xemnas nodded once, going on. "All in all, Sora, you are to help us complete Kingdom Hearts and you will do so without complaint and without any tricks. Do you have all that?"

"Why do you want Kingdom Hearts filled?" Sora asked, not answering the question.

"Organization is a group of Nobodies, ones without hearts. We are filling up Kingdom Hearts so that we may grant ourselves hearts. Not that it matters to you." He added. "You have to do it, no matter the reason."

Sora's gaze slid over to Maleficent, but the witch did not justify herself. Frankly, Sora was afraid to hear her reason for taking over Kingdom Hearts. Which was all the more reason for him to ignore what he had just heard and disobey. "And what if I refuse?" He growled, making it almost not a question.

"Then we will make sure that you watch as we kill every single person that you are close to."

The words were casual, as if he were saying something about watching the weather. But they struck icy fear into Sora's heart, the boy gritting his teeth together so hard, he thought they might crack. Xemnas saw this, a smile forming on his face as he watched the boy tremble in front of him. "That's right." He said affirmatively. "There is no real way out of this, Sora. You might as well give in before it is too late." Glancing over at Maleficent, he gave a nod at the witch. Heartless immediately sprouted from the ground, buzzing with both excitement and fear as they caught sight of Sora and the keyblade. "Have fun." Xemnas invited him, almost warmly. Walking forward, he walked right past Sora, who's blue eyes were wide and unfocused as they stared straight ahead.

Opening the door with Maleficent behind him, Xemnas threw a look back at Sora, the boy's back to him. "Hurry up." He said mockingly. "Kingdom Hearts isn't going to build itself." And then the leader laughed, mostly to himself. The slam of a door roused Sora, the shocked boy blinking rapidly as he slowly turned his head around to look at the many heartless crowding around him. A beat of still silence followed the exit of the room, leaving Sora to stare at the heartless with a slightly confused look. But then intelligence flooded back in his mind, the key bearer snapping into action at once.

Sora's hand flew down, stuffing into his pocket and digging around as fast as he could. Glancing behind him, Sora's heart picked up in less than a moment, pounding in his ears and making him tremble as he searched for the small locket. He didn't know he had so much crap in his pockets. He supposed that was why they were so big. Breath coming in gasps, Sora felt a small touch of relief as he scooped up the small necklace, ripping it out of his pants and looking down at it desperately.

"Nothing's happening…" A muffled voice sounded behind the door.

"Better go check." Another voice. There was scuffling for a moment, and then the doorknob turned.

Sora gasped, louder this time. Trembling, Sora lifted the necklace up over his head. "With my courage, I summon you!" He breathed out rapidly, blue eyes wide with alarm. There was a sharp yell before something rushed into his back, throwing him down to the ground and knocking the wind out of him. Gasping for breath on the ground like a fish, Sora watched with wide eyes as puffs of blue smoke appeared in the room.

"Cancel it! NOW!" It was Axel holding him down.

"NO!" Sora screamed, getting his air back.

Xaldin examined the trinket sloppily, obviously not knowing how to cancel the summon.

"Genie!" Sora screamed, seeing the familiar shape starting to come into view. "HELP ME!" He begged, trying to throw Axel off of him. Genie was now fully summoned, but the two met alarmed eyes only for a heartbeat. A large cracking noise exploded in the room, and Genie was gone. Xaldin had smashed the summon trinket, and Sora watched with a dead expression as Genie faded from view, no doubt going back to Agrabah.

"No…" Sora whispered, feeling himself being pulled roughly to his feet.

"Destroy any others he has in there. And anything else that might help him." Xaldin grunted.

Axel dragged Sora back and out of the room, the heartless had long since disappeared. But Sora didn't pay attention. He was numb for all but a moment, but as soon as Axel tugged on him, he snapped into action. "GENIE!" He yelled for his friend, jerking forward and trying to rush to the blue smoke, that was fading gray faster than Sora could see. "GENIE PLEASE! COME BACK!" Axel grabbed Sora more tightly, dragging the teen back and out of the room with a pained expression. But it was hidden from the others by the thrashing key bearer.

"GENIE! HELP ME!" Sora's voice was cracking by now, but he paid no heed to it. He watched with disbelief as the smoke slowly vanished from view, almost like it had never even been there in the first place. "Help…I need help…" Sora's voice dropped to a mumble, the boy's eyes growing more sad now, staggering backwards as if he needed Axel to help in guiding him. He kept his eyes on the smoke, waiting for Genie to pop back into view. But the door slammed in his face with an earth-shattering bang, hiding the smoke from his eyes, and also hiding the crushed trinkets that had used to be his summon charms. That had used to be his last resort in getting out.

Being dragged out, Sora blinked, looking to the side and catching sight of Xemnas and Maleficent. The two were standing in the far end of the hall, no doubt stopped by the alarm and yells of the scene that had just taken place. Sora stopped struggling, his eyes slowly narrowing with anger as he looked into the eyes of Xemnas. Rage burned in his blue orbs, the intensity of the feeling something that Sora had not felt in a long time. His blue gaze burned a hole in Xemnas, but the man was unbothered.

Instead, he shook his head slowly from side to side, closing his eyes. It was like Sora was a toddler that did something that disappointed the man. Which only made him more angered. Xemnas lifted his head, calling down the hall. "Did you destroy it" He called, as if he knew exactly what went on inside the room.

"We destroyed anything that could help him escape." Axel mumbled back ungraciously.

Xemnas looked at Sora, a new kind of expression that the boy hadn't seen before on his face. It took him a moment, but he finally realized what it was. It was as if the man was challenging him to try to escape again. Ducking his head, Sora met his eyes bravely, lifting his chin defiantly.

He accepted the challenge.

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A/N: Challenge accepted.

Sorry I didn't make this earlier, I was kinda busy. (More like enjoying the first week of summer)

But, you know~ Couldn't stop writing for long ^^

I hope I get a lot of reviews, because this chapter turned out better than I thought it would.

Fixed the typos! Thank you SO much for telling me about them! That was embarrassing XDD


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hmmm…Trying to decide whether or not I'll be able to accept your challenge Omens…

I'll try, alright? ^^

Anyway, this is a big chapter! I hope you'll all love it!

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Sora sat leaning against the wall, face blank and apathetic as he stared straight across the room to the other wall. Silence pressed like a dead weight in the room, Sora could swear he could hear everything. The footsteps outside, the voices that were attempted to be muffled. He felt his eyelids weighing down, threatening to close on themselves soon. Feeling his head starts to drop forward, Sora jerked it back into place, ramming the back of his head against the wall in the process. The thump was the only sound that had appeared in the room for a long time, but that didn't make it any less painful.

Gritting his teeth, Sora hissed with pain, one eye closed as he rubbed the back of his head as hard as he could. It was like he was wiping the pain away before it could get even worse. Sighing, he dropped his hand down to the ground with a much quieter thump. Twisting, the boy narrowed his eyes, trying to listen in on the other side of the wall, but it got as quiet as his side of the wall. "Tch." Sora clucked with disappointment. He needed this to work, but it relied on a bunch of other things at the same time. It was almost like he was hanging on the edge of a cliff, he needed somebody to bring him back up, or he was just going to hang there his entire life.

But he wasn't about to let that happen.

He was Sora, he would be able to get out of here like there was an exit door to his left.

And even if he didn't, his friends would surely come for him. They wouldn't leave him here.

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"So where do ya think we should start?" Goofy asked, one finger tapping his lip thoughtfully. The galaxy of worlds were stretched out like a map in front of him, it would be easy to go back and forth to search. The harder choice was deciding which world to start with in the first place. Donald looked as thoughtful as Goofy, the two knowing their task was a crucial one. It would not be taken lightly. With their best friend and key bearer taken somewhere and unable to come back (it looked like) they had to find him before anything else did. Or anyone else, for that matter.

"I don't know." Donald said, eyes narrowed. He stood up on his chair, on his toes as he leaned over, pressing himself to the Gummi Ship's glass, eyes roving the clump of worlds thoughtfully. "Hmm…." He glanced back at Goofy. "Which worlds did he like?" He said, the S sound coming out in a small lisp. Goofy blinked, tilting his head to the side as he searched his memories. Donald twitched, looking oddly at the weird look on the dog's face. But usually that look had to do with him thinking.

"He liked Ariel's world…" Goofy came up with, smiling brightly.

Donald swung his chair around so that he could see the underwater Atlantic world. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the usually-peaceful world. Goofy did have a point for once. Since the world was only filled with songs and musicals, it would be a spot Sora would go to get away from things. It would also be a good place considering Ariel and Sora were close friends, much better friends than say him and Jack Sparrow. All around, Donald let out a huff of relief finally. They seemed to have located where he could be.

"Or Jack's world!" Goofy said, snapping Donald out of his thoughts.

"Wha-" Donald narrowed his eyes. But he had narrowed it down already!

"Santa is there, and Sora liked the Christmas Town there. Remember, Donald?"

In response, Donald growled with irritation. "You can't do that!" He squawked angrily, Goofy starting with surprise at the sudden volume of anger from the duck. "He's in Ariel's world, we already figured that out, you big palooka! You can't just throw everything in like that! That messes us all up and then we're getting nowhere!"

"…Sorry?"

"You bet you are!" Donald snapped, dropping down into the chair with a smack.

Goofy blinked, looking away and out the window to the stars. Looking back Jack's world, he spotted the Lion world. He remembered that most, did Sora remember it too? Him and Simba were good friends together, just like him and Ariel. And yet Sora liked being a pirate on the seven seas. To put in short, Sora liked…everything. He liked everything about all the worlds, he could be anywhere at this point. But Goofy wasn't about to tell Donald that. Keeping his mouth closed wisely.

"To Ariel!" Donald ordered, raising a finger into the air for emphasis.

Without waiting another moment, Goofy turned the gummi around, going back to Ariel and getting farther away from Simba and the life of a pirate. Both of which Sora would have retreated to.

This was going to take longer than Goofy or Donald had anticipated.

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The ground was getting boring. Sora had been staring at it for hours, it wasn't moving or going anywhere or moving anytime soon. Which was, of course, a let down. It seemed to be the most interesting thing in this room. Sora was getting so bored, he was thinking of moving just to see if the floor moved in a different spot. But he knew that if he moved or made a noise, it would all go down the drain, so he kept where he was. Maybe the ground moved if you stared at it even longer.

Finally, it worked. The sound of the doorknob turning roused him from his thoughts - which were going nowhere. Axel peered inside, blinking as he scanned the room curiously. Sora was sitting right next to the door, so he waited until Axel's eyes finally landed on him. And even when they did, he didn't make a move, his face still wiped of emotion. Slowly, Axel looked at him more suspiciously. "What are you up to in here?" He asked slowly, eyeing the boy with one eyebrow raised.

Sora hesitated, before he blinked, shrugging one shoulder carelessly.

"…What's wrong with YOU?" Axel asked with a hint of disdain, now looking him up and down. "We usually can't get you to shut up. Now you're just sitting in here doing nothing. What are you up to?" Green eyes sparked with something else than anger, but Sora didn't find himself in the mood to try and figure out what it was.

Giving out a small sigh, which sounded way more dramatic to him than he had wanted to make it, he looked back down on the ground, mumbling something back to Axel. The man straightened, leaning forward slightly. It was obvious he hadn't heard Sora's whisper. Rolling his eyes, Sora threw Axel a glare, with a flash of his old spirit. "I said I'm thirsty." He said thinly. His blue eyes were sparking with anger at having to ask, it was obvious this was angering him to no end. "Get me something to drink."

Axel leaned against the doorframe, smiling. "I dunno." He said slowly, eyeing the boy down on the ground. "I only get things for people who ask nicely."

"How about you get somebody else to do it then?" He asked sharply, looking away.

"Can't. Xaldin and Xigbar are off on a mission. Luxord is too busy with his card game he's playing with himself. So you're stuck with me, kid." With Sora turned away, Axel failed to see the small spark of interest that lit up in the depths of Sora's blue eyes. "So, in other terms…what was that? Can you say it a little louder?"

Interest clearing from his eyes, Sora grounded his teeth together angrily, weighing his priorities. Finally, his gave in, lowering his head and whispering yet another word. Axel hummed thoughtfully, seeming to enjoy whatever crap he was trying to pull. When he didn't move, Sora finally spoke up, voice coated with poison and death threats, though the death threats went unspoken. "Can you please get me a drink?" He hissed, lower lip out in a small pout.

"I'm so sorry, I'm a little hard of-"

"PLEASE GET ME A DRINK YOU IDIOT!" Sora yelled, slamming his fist down on the ground.

Axel blinked, face turning sour. But he didn't make Sora say it again, it probably would have turned out worse off in the end. Turning around, Axel stalked away, irritated and rubbed the wrong way. In the silence of the almost-empty building, loud thunder shook the place, nearly making both Sora and Axel jump from the sudden volume. Stopping for a moment, Axel listened, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. Sure enough, pouring rain drummed on the roof, making a small roar of water as more of a background noise to everything that was going on. Which wasn't much, this place was like a ghost town. And who's fault was that, though? Axel turned the corner, retracing his steps back to get food. Might as well feed him while he's going.

A small almost inaudible clicking noise followed Axel's departure, and sure enough, the man didn't pay heed to it. The rain pounding on the walls and the roof disguised the noise, drowning it out easily. But Sora heard the click obviously, the boy's face splitting into a large grin. Twisting his head back to look over his shoulder, Sora looked down at his keyblade, the end part of it just barely in the doorway. IT did the trick though, the door was cracked open just a sliver, barley open enough for people to notice it was even open. But he had to move fast, Axel could come back any minute now. It didn't take long to get a glass of water.

And he needed to be long gone before Axel even thought of coming back. Pushing himself up, he yanked his keyblade back, reaching over and pushing the door out soundlessly. Poking his head out, the boy whipped his head back and forth, blue eyes searching for a trace of movement in the halls ahead of him, but the coast was clear. Getting up to his feet, Sora winced in response. He had grown stiff from sitting still that long, but he pushed it away as much as he could. He had this window, and if he messed up, it would not go well probably.

Stepping out into the hall, Sora half-expected a missile to come launching at his head, nearly taking the boy's breath away. But it was still, nothing even twitched at his appearance in the hall. Quite unlike he had thought. Hearing faint footsteps getting closer, Sora gasped, mind going a mile a minute as he whirled around, confused. Taking the way opposite of the footsteps, Sora broke into a run, the sound of the rain overhead blotting out the sounds of his panicked feet.

Axel sighed airily, emerging back into the hall where Sora's room was. The man was about to call out for…what time was it…lunch. But he stopped dead at what he saw in front of him. Green eyes wide and shining with disbelief. The door…how did the door get open? Dropping the plate of food with a clatter to the ground, the food slopping onto the ground with a slap. Rushing forward, Axel ripped back the door, his head sticking into the room as fast as an arrow. He whirled around, heart hammering against his ribcage like a drum. It was empty.

The room was empty.

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Huffing for breath, Sora's feet pounded on the ground, uneven thumps rapid and panicked as he raced through the unfamiliar hallway. He knew there was a short time before Xemnas figured out he had escaped, before the heartless were sent to become an obstacle in the way for him. Then he would be slowed, and then it was a matter of time before he was caught altogether. But when he didn't know where he was going, he could end up anywhere. He could end up smacking right back into Axel.

Glancing over his shoulder rapidly, Sora cursed himself mentally. His fear was making his legs slow. Breathing out slowly, Sora closed his eyes, pushing away all thought and all memory in his mind. Snapping his eyes back open, Sora felt himself speed up unconsciously, the sound of rain becoming almost closer the farther he went along. It WAS getting closer, he could hear it like it was a drum. Narrowing his eyes, Sora skidded to a stop, breath rasping in his throat as he looked back and forth.

Two hallways branched off, one going straight and the other bent right, going in a different direction. Sora's thoughts went as fast as his legs were going before. If he went straight, he wouldn't get lost and continue the way he had been coming. And yet, the sound of rain was louder coming from the right, did that mean it led outside? It could be where a gummi portal would be, it was his way out that he had been looking for from the start.

He started to lean forward, ready to run again, straight forward. Getting lost was a bigger fear for him. The right hallway might not even lead outside anyway, it might just be his panic talking. But as soon as he started forward, he immediately leapt backwards, eardrums ringing. A large, anger-filled roar filled the hallways, chilling Sora to the bone and making him stop altogether in his footsteps. Blue eyes filled with terror and fear, the boy scuttling backwards like a crab. It was Xemnas, there was no denying. From amid the shadows of the hallways up ahead, Sora could have sworn that he saw the glint of yellow heartless eyes.

Gasping sharply, Sora turned on the beat, pushing the toe of his foot back into the floor as he leapt into motion. He was sprinting now, unable to control his quickly-beating heart by now. Eyes filled with fear, nervousness, and a small hint of doubt, Sora dove into the shadows of the Right Hall at once. It was dark for a moment, too dark for him to see for a split second. Panic threatened to swallow him up, the boy's fear of the dark nearly pushing him over onto the ground as he began to backtrack.

He slipped as he was trying to move backwards, falling to the ground and landing with a painful slam on the ground. Pain ringing through him, Sora groaned, closing his eyes tightly as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his head once again. It seemed like his head was worse for wear by now. What did he even slip on, anyway? Cracking open one eye, Sora's eyes strained in the darkness, the boy's eyes flying open with surprise and happiness. A puddle of water. Rocketing to his feet, Sora dashed forward, it taking only a few steps until he broke out into freezing cold air, the shock of it making him smile.

Sure enough, he was outside. By some sort of miracle, he was now standing in the fresh and cold air, he was standing in the free air. He almost couldn't believe it. Sora found himself laughing even before he knew it. It was nervous laughter, he couldn't know how close the others were to him, but it was happy all the same. He was out, he was out! Shaking himself to clear his thoughts, Sora started running again, his legs sore and his head dizzy from breathing so sharply.

The rain soaked him in minutes, his clothes and hair weighted down with the water pouring down from the pitch-dark sky. Considering there was no moon to light his way, Sora fumbled in the dark, tripping and stumbling as he went. But when he looked back at the place he left, he saw it seemed like a large castle, and he was standing in what looked like to be a regular city street. He still couldn't find where he needed to go, but the light from the neon signs overhead cast a small glow of light over what he could manage to see through the rain.

He ran for what seemed like an eternity, but it was a blissful one. One filled with fresh air, and cold breeze tugging at him. He had never been so happy to run around in the rain looking like an idiot who lost their way. He heard yells and shouts over the rain, but when he looked back, all he saw was a sheet of water streaming down. It was like he was in his own room, secluded from everything and everyone else. But that made it dangerous as well as comforting. He would never know when they were going to sneak up on him.

The thought made his heart tug with worry, but it melted as quick as it came. Coming to a clumsy stop, Sora sprayed up the large sheet of water that had formed on the street. It was like a flood, his shoes were already soaked-through all the way by now. But that didn't matter. Through the sheets of rain, Sora saw a small, tiny glow. A green glow. A glow he knew all too well.

His heart soared, he was going to get out.

Nearly crying with relief, Sora picked up his run once more, sloppier now as he smiled. He didn't know whether they were raindrops or tears going down his cheeks, but his throat burned, and he felt his shoulders shake. Reaching out his arms, Sora pushed himself into a sprint, watching the green glow get brighter and brighter. "I'm here!" He screamed, almost like Goofy and Donald could hear him if he yelled loud enough.

Finally, the green light got close enough, and he felt warmth cover him from head to toe. As soon as he touched it, he felt himself go numb, he felt himself falling away. He was falling into another world, he was sure enough. He was falling home.

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A/N: Sorry for the cliffy! I have to go, and just so you all know, you should expect an update tomorrow! (hopefully)

That's right. I'm doing your challenge! :D

Review and I'll update tomorrow bright and early! ^^


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I will try to get this out, I'm a little off of on whether or not I'll actually be able to.

Is anybody here going to Natsucon in Collinsville Illinois this year? I'm going, and I'd love to meet up with people if any of you are going! ^^

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An odd, cooling sensation filled Sora, the boy feeling himself falling almost, freezing cold air making him shiver, his eyes squeezing shut tightly. He couldn't feel where he was, the darkness pressing in on him like walls, claustrophobia threatening to take over Sora. But slowly, Sora saw a small pinprick of light shining in front of him, like it was at the end of a long tunnel. Slowly, the boy opened his eyes, blinking and straightening at once as he saw the beam of light. Almost like swimming, Sora pushed himself through the darkness, hands and legs churning madly as he reached for the exit.

His ears could have been playing tricks on him, but Sora could faintly hear shouts and yells slowly coming closer behind him. They sounded muffled, as if he were underwater, but they were distinct all in their own way. Reaching out, the boy strained, gritting his teeth together as he lunged forward desperately. Finally, the light came close enough to him, his face lighting up yellow from the bright glow. Leaning through the syrup-thick shadows, Sora fell head-first into the bright tunnel of light, slipping away from the clump of voices.

Now he was falling for real. Sora gasped with panic as he saw ground below him rearing up towards him rapidly. Twisting and fumbling in the air, Sora managed to turn so that he fell on his back, landing on the ground with a dull thud. Groaning, Sora pushed himself up slowly, one eye closed in pain. "Ouch." He growled to himself, patience wearing thin for both himself and the Organization. It was as if he were making sure that he got hurt every five minutes.

Perking up, Sora blinked, head swinging back and forth in a rapid burst of shock. Where was he? Where was the Organization? Looking around slowly, Sora felt his heart slow somewhat, felt his nerves settle as he recognized the landscape around him. It was a dense forest, shadows and bare trees seeming to stretch towards him. Graves and tombstones surrounded him wherever he look, the full moon casting a sickly-yellow glow down on the land, turning it an eerie silver. Sora would have been frightened of this place if he hadn't been here so many times before.

He was in Halloween Town, and he was sure as anything that Jack was somewhere around here. Pushing himself up to his feet, Sora looked down at himself, ready to asses the damage. But he blinked, caught off-guard by the fact that he was still wearing his same clothes. Glancing around him, Sora's face showed confusion, shouldn't he be wearing his Halloween costume here? It was like that every time he'd been here, why is this time different?

His thoughts were sliced through as a sharp snap echoed through the seemingly-silent forest. Jerking to attention, Sora side-stepped at once, skirting a large tombstone and pressing himself against the back of it, heart skipping a beat as he did so. Hiding behind the large rock, Sora worked to swallow the sudden lump in his throat, watching a Xigbar came through the woods, slapping aside stray branches and twigs. "Figures." He was growling to himself. "I come back from my first mission in a week and I come back to a disaster. Why couldn't Axel handle the brat himself!" Sora winced at the sudden yell, shuffling to the side to ensure his hiding spot. "If I had been there instead of that soft guy, this wouldn't happen."

Sora took great care in stretching out his neck ever so slightly as to peer over the smooth gray stone. There was nobody behind Xigbar, did that mean they all split up to cover more ground? Or did they all split up worlds between them? And if they did do that, where could Sora go where he would be safe? Ducking back into his shelter, Sora knew where he would go at once. He would go to the Lab, Jack would surely be there. After all, Sally was there all the time.

He waited, hunched over slightly as he listened to Xigbar's footsteps. They crawled closer, every thump making Sora's skin crawl. Suddenly, they stopped right in front of Sora's hiding spot, a small mumble coming from the man, sounding thoughtful. Counting the seconds until Sora would have to run, the boy ducked his head into his knees, squeezing his eyes tightly as he started to tremble. Xigbar leaned forward, ready to look behind the grave that was in front of him.

When suddenly, the man jerked back with a loud call of alarm. Sora's eyes snapped open, heart freezing as he thought he had been found out. But Xigbar's footsteps picked up once more, heading back into the forest at rapid speed. Getting to his feet, Sora looked out, curious as to what made the Organization member retreat so quickly. Squinting, Sora caught sight of a small glint of light coming through the branches. The spot where it had appeared was the direction Xigbar was racing for. But Sora was smarter than the man apparently. The sight made a warm smile come over the key bearer's face. Whether he had done it on purpose or not, Zero just saved him, and Sora made a mental note to not forget that.

But now he needed to leave, before anything else bad happened. Spinning around, Sora broke into a run, hair flattening against his head as he made for Halloween Town. The town square wasn't lit up with Christmas lights anymore, or what Jack had made out to be Christmas lights. It was filled with what Halloween should have, the same creepy cobblestone plaza and the same odd fountain that spat out slime…or green-colored water, Sora had never had the courage to find out what was in there, really. But it was deserted as always, Sora's feet seeming all the more loud as he skidded to a stop.

Breath coming in a small wheeze, Sora's head spun as he looked back and forth. Where was the lab again? His vision danced back and forth, making it hard to determine. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Sora pushed himself once more, making for the lab's grand front doors, on the other side of the plaza. Fumbling, Sora glanced over his shoulder, taking the steps up two at a time. He could have sworn that he saw a familiar black coat getting closer and closer to the square. Inhaling sharply, Sora tore open the lab doors, half-running, half-falling into the building as he slammed the doors shut behind him with a slam. Hands shaking, Sora's eyes scanned the door rapidly, trying to figure out if there was any kind of lock on these doors. Sadly, he came up without an answer. "Drat!" He yelled, stamping his foot down on the ground with a huff.

Blinking, he suddenly remembered where he was. Turning around slowly, Sora let his hands drop to his sides, biting his lower lip with a wince as he turned around fully. Jack and Sally stood behind him, the skeleton's mouth split open wide with a smile. Sally on the other hand, seemed to sense the panic that Sora was holding, her eyes shining with concern as she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Sora!" Jack greeted heartily. "It's been a while since I saw you! What brings you here this time?"

"Well-" Sora was cut off, the boy deadpanning as Jack went on as if he hadn't heard the boy.

"What's with those clothes? I've never seen those before. Is that your Santa outfit?"

"Listen to me-"

"Because that doesn't look like a Santa Claws outfit, Sora." Jack said flatly.

"It's not! It's what I always wear!" Sora said in exasperation. Quickly, he covered his mouth with a slap, eyes wide as he turned, peeking out the window so that his face showed as little as possible. Xigbar was standing in the plaza, looking disgruntled and irritated. It was obvious he had found out the gleam of light he had spotted had come from a ghost dog and not the keyblade bearer he was searching for. Ducking behind the window, he crouched underneath it, looking back and forth thoughtfully.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Sally asked softly, looking rather worried.

"You guys need to hide me." Sora whispered harshly. "I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I don't have anywhere else to go, the Organization could be spread out all over the worlds, Maleficent could be there too." Eyeing their stunned faces, he added. "It might seem like a lot to take in now, but what matters is, that they don't like me." Pausing, he added. "At all. I need somewhere to stay where I know they wont find me. Has a witch come in here? A man in black?" Partly, he hoped that it was the case. Then they wouldn't check this building again. But Jack shook his head, shrugging at the same time. Disappointed, Sora huffed, sinking low where he crouched.

"Why are you running from them?" Sally asked, obviously confused.

"They want to take me back with them, so-" Suddenly, Sora went dead cold, eyes widening and the lump in his throat coming back again. Loud raps on the door was what made him freeze, Sally and Jack perking at the noise. Glancing over at the door and then back at Sally and Jack, Sora's mind whirled. Suddenly, he blinked, seeing the glow of a portal right behind the two lovebirds. It could take him somewhere with another Organization member, and maybe even worse, but it would get him away from Xigbar. The longer he could run from them, the less likely it was he was caught. …Right?

"Let me in!" Xigbar's voice sounded through the door. "I know there's somebody in there, open up before I break the door down myself!"

Grimacing, Sora pushed himself up to his feet slowly, careful not to make any sound. Walking silently, Sora made his way for the portal, making sure to put a finger to his lips for Sally and Jack to stay quiet. Jack looked a little miffed still, looking from Sora to the door as if he couldn't place exactly what was going on here. Sally just looked all around frightened. She never was one for action like this. At least Sora had never seen her in the thick of things before. And he wasn't about to put her in the middle of things unless he could prevent it.

Suddenly, Xigbar showed that he actually kept some of his promises. The door was knocked from its hinges in a flash and a slam that echoed through the building. Sora jumped with surprise, losing his footing for a moment as he staggered. "There you are!" Whipping around, the keybearer gasped as he and Xigbar locked eyes. The Organization member wasted no time, probably picturing the honor he would receive of being able to catch the boy for his leader and bring him back. A flash of pure light shot out from the man's weapon, Sora growling in pain as the laser burned his arm.

Xigbar narrowed his eyes as he saw the boy leap for the green circle seeming to burn into the ground. Growling, Xigbar fired lasers on the boy, smirking to himself as he saw the look of pain cross over the keybearer's features. He was cut short as the skeleton to the right shot his own ball of fire at him. Jerking around, the Organization member scowled, the walking dead seeming to be enraged by what the man had just done. Looking back where the boy had stood before, Xigbar let out a furious yell as he realized the boy had disappeared. Nothing even showed Sora used to be in the lab room.

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Through the stinging pain that was ringing through him, Sora snapped his head up, looking back and forth in confusion. He was back in the blackness again. Blinking, Sora looked ahead, recognizing the same ball of light at the end of the thick shadows around him. Was this what happened to you traveling through worlds without a ship? After all, Riku found a way to do it without his gummi ship. Was this how he got around? The blackness was stifling and uncomfortable, Sora anxious to get out of it.

A thought occurred to him as he floundered for the end of the strange traveling tunnel. He could just stay here, and try to hide out from the Organization and Maleficent. After all, why would they search here for a person who hated the darkness? But that was it, he guessed. Staying long in the darkness was not something that Sora felt okay with. Even now, he could feel the weight of the dark pressing in on him making it hard for him to breath. It was suffocating.

He belonged in the light. And that was why he wasn't about to let the Organization win and take him again.

He needed to find his friends. He needed to see for himself whether or not Xemnas was lying when he said that both Goofy and Donald were now dead. The thought sent Sora's heart twisting, but he pushed it aside. Using the last ounce of strength he could, he propelled himself forward through the strange, thick shadows and into the light. Closing his eyes at the sharp yellow beam, Sora rubbed his eyes roughly, waiting a moment before opening them once more.

He was crouched on ground that was strangely smooth, the place he was silent and empty. His vision shook back and forth, the boy feeling tingly as if the entire room was spinning around him. His clothes bore marks of the lasers that had been fired at him, not to mention the rips and holes in it from the eternity's-worth of fights with the heartless back with the Organization. Wincing, Sora tried to push himself up, but immediately realized it was the wrong idea as his strength gave out, the boy crashing back into the ground heavily.

Closing his eyes tightly, Sora hissed through his clenched teeth, hands balled into shaking fists as he tried to push the pain away from him roughly. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know who was here. He tried to make sense of the swirling colors and shapes around him, but to no avail. Sighing, Sora dropped his head back on the ground, closing his eyes softly. Now he knew that burning all those trays in order to try and get his magic under control was not smart at all.

It was all his keyblade's fault, then. If it wasn't so hard to control…

But if he had been a better fighter….

If he had been a better fighter, he wouldn't be in this mess at all. His eyes squeezed closed tightly, one arm going up and gripping his burning arm tightly, only making the pain worse. Every inch of him was on fire, and Sora was unable to comprehend anything for a frightening moment. But from the corner of mind, he faintly heard footsteps coming towards him, hesitant and slow in their wake.

Making a move to get up, Sora folded his hands underneath his chest, trying to push himself up. He got into the air about halfway before he grunted, giving up as he fell back down again. Blowing out a huff of breath, Sora listened as the footsteps ceased behind him, the person coming to a stop. A hand went down, touching his arm, sending a firework of pain to explode through the limb as it pressed down on one of his burns. He flinched, crying out in pain as he tried to jerk away from the touch to no avail.

The hand went back abruptly and rapidly, the person obviously caught off-guard.

A voice sounded around him, Sora unable to distinguish who the owner of the voice was.

But the words sent icy chills through him. "Don't worry, you're coming back with us."

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"We've been to Atlantica, The Castle, and even to visit Hercules!" Donald snorted angrily. "I doubt he would be in a place like this!" He eyed the barren marketplace around him with distaste. Donald never really did like Agrabah, it was one of those worlds he never liked to hear needed trouble. Sure, he helped save them without complaint, it was just that it was such an empty world. Not many people around and a complicated network of places to go, if he might add.

"Gosh, he could be anywhere!" Goofy pointed out mildly, determined not to show his worry.

Donald huffed, the two making their way through the Bazaar and stopping in front of the Palace wall. The duck eyed the large building, thinking unconsciously that it looked out of place in the shacks that occupied the rest of the town. He was about to say something, when the door to the palace flew open, Aladdin and Jasmine bursting through the doorway and down to the two heroes. Well…Junior Heroes.

"Donald! Goofy!" Aladdin greeted, the once-thief coming to a stop in front of the two. Jasmine followed closely, her fingers intertwined with Aladdin's rather romantically. The man sized the two up, looking a little off as he did so. Peering around them, the prince asked awkwardly. "So…where's Sora?"

Donald sighed inwardly. He had hoped to do this without running into familiar faces.

Goofy was the one to answer, thankfully. "We're lookin for him." He declared, looking around the Palace Gardens as he spoke. "He went missin a while ago, and everyone's worried sick. You haven't seen him, have ya?" He asked, rather hopefully. "If you have, it would help us a whole lot!"

Aladdin and Jasmine glanced at each other, none looking at all surprised. In fact, they looked a little…sad. Which was a given, considering they just found out their friend was missing. But it looked different, as if they were PREPARING to be even more sad. They turned their looks on both Donald and Goofy. They looked sad for THEM. "We haven't." Aladdin said clearly, voice regretful. "But I think Genie has something to tell you."

A/N: I HAVE TO GO SIMPSONS IS ON!

REVIEW PLEASE, REVIEWS MAKE ME UPDATE FASTER WINKWINK


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hello there once more! ^^

Alright! Look at that little blue number up there! We're SO close to 100 reviews! :D

You think we can make it? :O

…I think we can make it XP By the way, I'm sorry I didn't get this out earlier. It was like three in the morning, and my dad was yelling at me to get off. I DO NOT OWN SIMON SAYS. Obviously, my name isn't Simon…

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There were no words to describe the sudden intense volume that a duck's voice can shoot to in a matter of milliseconds. Not to mention how many eardrums it can ring at one time. Hands flying up to his head, Goofy clamped his hands over his ear tightly, blinking rapidly with surprise as Donald started to show what he was most good at besides magic. Throwing tantrums. The white duck was furious, that much was certain. Blue eyes blazing and feet stomping on the ground in fast tempo, the magician looked ready to kill. Which probably wasn't all that far from the truth, taking into consideration the duck's normal behavior.

Aladdin and Jasmine's eyes flew wide, following in Goofy's movements and slapping their hands over their ears with a grimace. Genie seemed to be oblivious to it though, not even glancing over at Donald as he looked glumly at the ground. Goofy had never seen his friend this upset; he had never not heard Genie talk for this long either. Usually the trio could never get a word in edgewise with the magical guy. And yet, after Donald had started to yell, he had grown silent. Which had to be a first.

Glancing over nervously at Donald, Goofy felt sorrow like an arrow slice into his heart. He might not be very smart most of the time, but he was able to grasp this much at least. Donald showed out his sadness with anger, it was always like that. And considering that King Mickey had paired the two of them together, Goofy guessed that he was supposed to be there to balance out the duck's anger issues. Dropping his hands to his side, Goofy reached over hesitantly, grabbing hold of the magician's shoulder tightly as he shook his comrade back and forth as fast as he could. "Snap out of it, Donald!" He shouted, unusually cross as he looked down at his friend.

The white duck flailed, ready to slap Goofy out of the way, yelling words that were slurred together, unable to be picked out or understood with the lisp of his. Narrowing his eyes, Goofy drew out his shield, raising it up and knocking Donald over the head with it. The duck squawked with alarm and surprise, staggering for a moment as he tried to regain his footing. The blow hadn't been so hard as to have actually hurt him, just enough to knock some sense into him, if you will. Obviously getting it, Donald turned, shooting Goofy a glare.

But then his shoulders sagged, the anger melting away from his eyes as he looked at Goofy with a new expression this time. It was a lost expression, on that asked the question that Goofy had thought ever since they first couldn't find Sora back in Hollow Bastian. "…What do we do now, then?" Without Sora, the quest would be for nothing, the worlds going unprotected from the wrath of both the heartless and the Organization. Anything could happen, people could die. Not only that, but Sora could die as well. Not to mean that the mission wasn't important, but Goofy was much more worried about Sora than he was about the other worlds.

"We're really sorry." Aladdin said, snapping Goofy back to attention. "It was a few days ago that this happened. It was really bizarre. We wanted to tell you, in case none of you knew and were looking for him like we found you doing. But we had no way of finding you all again." He paused, looking at the two in front of him and taking them in. "You have no idea where he is?" He pressed, voice subdued. Him and Sora were also good friends, both Goofy and Donald could find the glint of worry in the ex-thief's eyes.

"No." Donald muttered, agitated as he looked away.

Goofy turned back to Genie, anxious. "You're sure that's all you got there?" He asked, head tilted.

Genie blinked, starting. Hopeful, Goofy wondered if he had thought of something else, but the man just shrugged his head slowly. "It's like I said." He remarked, holding out his hands like surrender to Goofy. "He summoned me, I thought that you all were in a tough situation that needed the expertise of magic." There was no humor in his voice, like it would have been before. "I knew something was wrong as soon as I got there, it wasn't like all the other times. I could hear yelling, a lot of it. I was only there for a few seconds. I had time to see Sora yelling for help. He was being dragged away by a man in black, and then my summon charm broke. I got sent back here." He looked back down at the ground, growing more blue by the minute. "That's all I got for you."

That meant the Organization had Sora. And it also meant that Sora was in incredible danger. The thought of Sora alone against the larger group of the villains made Goofy's mouth pull down into a worried frown. Feeling his stomach churn, Goofy looked back at Donald. The duck was looking away still, almost unable to meet anybody's gazes it seemed. Both of them were lost, that much was sure. Obviously, they were used to looking over at Sora to make decisions like these.

So Goofy was just going to have to take charge then.

"We'd better go back to Leon." He decided, not asking Donald whether he thought it was a good idea. Turning around, Goofy started back to the gummi ship, saying a quick goodbye to the gang before he did so. Jumping up, Donald ran to catch up with him, blue eyes still narrowed. Silence followed them until they were in the gummi ship, driving over to Hollow Bastian. Donald was first to break the silence surprisingly.

"What are we going to tell them?" He asked quietly. "The king…what will he do?"

Goofy glanced over at his friend worriedly, but did not reply.

When they landed in Hollow Bastian, they walked straight for Merlin's house, not taking any detours or side-views. When people milling about the town called out a greeting to the familiar faces of the heroes, the two didn't turn to acknowledge their recognition. The two had something else on their mind, it was like they were oblivious to whatever else was going on around them. The closer they got to the house, the slower their paces started to get, until they were both standing side-by-side, staring at the house as they stood a few feet away from the door. Neither one of them wanted to be the first to go inside empty-handed.

But apparently they didn't need to get inside literally. The door flew open all on its own, Yuffie hopping out of the doorway and onto the concrete. "You're back!" She said happily, hands folded together as they pointed up into the sky. Her eyes were wide and hopeful, a large smile on her face. "So you found him? Where was he?" She pressed. Leon walked up behind her, Cid following. The two men peered over the girl, both of their eyebrows raised expectantly.

Yuffie's smile faded slowly, the girl blinking slowly as she tiled her head to the side to look around the corner. Almost expecting the key bearer to be leaning against the wall. "…Soo?" She prompted, humor slowly dripping off of her voice. "Where is he?" She asked, hands dropping at her sides loosely. Leon and Cid's eyes darkened somewhat, and Goofy let out a small sigh, looking down at Donald. The duck was silent as ever, holding his tongue and refusing to say anything. He might as well be the one to say it.

"We know where he is." Goofy hedged out, flinching inwardly.

Yuffie brightened at once, closing her eyes as she smiled largely.

"He's been captured by the Organization."

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He was moving through a tunnel once more, but this one was obviously a different kind of tunnel. It was foggy and musty, gripping him with cold claws and making sure that he wouldn't break free of their hold. Twisting and thrashing, Sora tried to wriggle out of the foggy place, his mind and sight slowly coming into focus as he clawed his way up. Up was better than going down, right? But was he even going up? Which way was up again? He was going the right way, right?

Slowly, pieces and blends of colors made their way into his line of vision, Sora's eyes fluttering open groggily and slowly. Colors blended into one another, haziness slowly melting away as he opened his eyes fully. Though he woke up, his head still felt like a dead weight, he couldn't remember where he was, what he was doing. Where was he? Was he supposed to be here?

Pushing himself up, Sora ducked his head, letting out a small cry of pain as his body shrieked with agony at the simple movement. Cracking open his blue eyes, Sora looked around the room best he could, trying to make sense of where he was. But he came up with nothing, the boy hissing under his breath. Turning, Sora took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as he planted his feet on the ground. Closing his eyes tightly, Sora pushed himself off of whatever he was on, coming to a standing position as fast he could.

Staggering, the boy swayed where he stood, skin stinging and burning still. Turning, Sora made sense of his surroundings mostly, recognizing that he was in a castle. Cold horror swam over him as he realized he was back in the Organization's castle. "…No…" He whispered under his breath, panic making his chest heave rapidly. "No!" Forcing his legs to move, Sora rushed forward, landing against the wall heavily, leaving against it as his hands fumbled with the doorknob. Panting openly, Sora ripped open the door, swinging it open and limping outside.

Whirling around, Sora spotted a random hallway, turning and walking as fast as he could with his injured body. With a limped gait, Sora made his way down the hall, letting out small whimpers and grunts of pain as he went along. The place was shadowed, the hall wasn't lit, and Sora could only imagine all of the weird things that could be in the dark laying in wait for him. The thought made his stomach do flips, and the boy felt a wave of nausea sweep through him. Putting out one hand, Sora placed it on the wall, feeling his way through the dim hallway.

He was almost through, when suddenly there was a sharp yell behind him, the boy's head snapping up, eyes going wide at the shout. "Sora!" The voice roared, surprise clear in the voice even from where the boy was standing. Risking a glance over his shoulder, Sora gasped sharply through clenched teeth, turning back clumsily and forcing himself to go faster. The rapid footsteps turned into a run and they were getting closer and closer.

Narrowing his eyes, Sora pushed off the wall. Through the pain and burning sensation covering him, Sora broke into a sprint, forcing his pain down to that it formed a thick lump in his throat. The person behind him let out a startled noise, quickening pace to try and reach him. "Get lost!" Sora yelled behind him angrily, ready to try and throw his keyblade back to hit the Organization member. The footsteps suddenly stopped abruptly, Sora blinking with surprise as his pace slowed slightly.

But then something slammed into his back, the boy knocked forward and being sprawled painfully on the ground. Face being buried into the ground, Sora screwed his eyes shut tightly, feeling them burn painfully as his hands gripped into fists behind him. But then he sighed, loosening his shoulders and going limp, giving up. The fact was hard, but Sora couldn't run, even if he could throw off this attacker. His energy had left him, he was sapped fully.

But the weight on his back vanished suddenly, the person stepping to the side. "Are you alright?" The voice asked. Blinking with surprise, Sora stared into the floor for a moment, frozen and not at all sure what to do. After what seemed like forever, Sora slowly rolled over, flattening himself to the ground and looking up with a shaky breath. It took a moment for him to finally make sense of it, but slowly intelligence flooded back into his eyes, Sora pushing himself up to sit upright in a flash. "B-Beast?" He fumbled, confusion ringing through him as he looked up at the large monster he called a friend.

"You shouldn't be up." His friend said, head tilted to the side. "You weren't supposed to be up for a long time." Quoting Sora himself, the Beast added. "You shouldn't move when you're hurt."

"I gotta…I have to…" He looked around, now realizing it was pretty apparent where he was. He was in the East Wing, the regular metal knights and stone gargoyles decorating the space around where he sat. How could he have missed it? He's been here enough times on missions and such, did he go blind for a moment there? He must have. "I have to go…" What was he trying to say again?

"Beast, what's going on?" Another voice came into earshot, Sora jumping to his feet despite the pain, which intensified after he had been tackled to the ground by a tall, heavy monster. But he supposed the startle he had gotten from the sudden voice had become more of a habit by now. But as he realized who it was, Sora relaxed, watching as Belle rushed forward, brown eyes wide with surprise and panic. "I heard running, I didn't know what was going on, if there were more-"

She broke off, eyes finally landing on the battered boy that stood behind her prince. She stopped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth, muffling her gasp of alarm at the sight of him. You're not supposed to be up yet, you should still be resting!" Her voice turned to that of a mother's, as if Sora was her child that had disobeyed a direct order. But then she stopped, eyes slowly softening as she stared at the smaller child. "But I'm just glad you're alright." She murmured, closing the distance between her and the two as she paced forward. "When I first found you on the ground, I wasn't all that sure…"

"That was you?" Sora asked, feeling a rush of relief wash over him.

"Yes, I was just coming down from dinner." She said, brown eyes still searching his blue ones. "I was almost ready to turn the corner, when I heard something fall. I thought it was just a piece of furniture, and then when I looked, it was you." She paused for a moment, thinking. "You gave me a quite a scare." She finnaly said, voice laced with mock anger.

Sora managed a smile. "Sorry bout that." He said, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck.

Doing a once-over of him, Belle said more sternly this time. "You really do need to go to bed. It's not a question this time. You look dead on your feet. Where are Goofy and Donald? Usually you're with them." Beast looked away at the question, obviously wiser than Belle and figuring that question wouldn't have been needed. But Bell pressed. "I would have thought you guys had been separated, but when they never came, I got really worried. What's going on?"

How many times had he explained this by now? Sora looked at Belle, weighing the pros and cons of lying to her and making up some weird answer. Judged by his state, it would make a pretty poor cover, Sora wasn't sure whether or not Belle would think the same as well. Deciding it was better she not know the truth and get scared, Sora managed to make his voice casual. "The gummi ship crashed before I came here, Goofy and Donald got separated from me. Have you seen them?" He asked hopefully.

But Belle shook her head after a moment's pause. Her eyes glinted slightly with disbelief, but she did not pry, much to Sora's relief. The princess instead beckoned him with one hand, making her way back to the room he had come from. Sora blinked, exchanging a glance with the Beast before both of the two trailed after. Sora was still limping, a little worse now after he had forced himself into that sprint. But he didn't think too much of it, instead thinking about something else. "Belle, what were you thinking when you heard running?" He asked, his mind flying to her words moments before. "What did you think I was? What were you expecting more of?"

Belle started with surprise, pausing in opening his door as she turned to look at him. Her eyes held traces of doubt, and she looked to Beast with a worried expression. The prince huffed angrily, "He doesn't have to know." He said firmly. "At least not now anyway." Sora narrowed his eyes, looking from the woman to the monster, back and forth. Crossing his arms over his chest, Sora felt heat rise into his face. They talked like he wasn't standing right by them. Belle seemed to share his thoughts, biting her lower lip as she stared at him.

"He deserves to know, though. It might be something he already knows about. It would explain-"

"Belle, he would have said something by now."

"But maybe he thinks we don't know.

"We might as well not take the chance."

"But LOOK at him!" Belle's voice sharpened by now.

"And that might be the reason."

"Then why keep things from him!" She said.

"Why talk about me like I'm seven?" Sora yelled crossly, the two looking at him guiltily.

"He's right." Belle said bracingly, spinning around and opening the door widely. "He has a right to know, of course. He's the one trying to stop all of this." Sora perked at the words, coming forward and following her into the room. "It's outside. It's been that way for about an hour." An hour? How long had he been out? It must be a while, his head was still a little fuzzy. But he did as Belle asked, standing beside her as she drew back a curtain, the window displaying a breath-taking view of the courtyard in front of the castle. Leaning forward, Sora narrowed his eyes, not sure what he was looking at in the darkness outside.

But that was it. Slowly, his mind pieced together what it was. The shadows on the ground were not made by the trees outside, they were shadows themselves. A whole hoard of heartless were outside, much too many for Sora to count, let alone fight. Feeling his mouth open, Sora looked down into the courtyard with frank disbelief. Most of the shadows were trying to find a way inside, but some of them were merely standing there, eyes glinting evilly in the darkness of the night.

They were looking up at the top of the castle. Sora felt a wave of panic as they seemed to lock eyes with him. The message was clear as day. "You can run, but not for long. We'll find you, no matter where you go or what you do." Heartless have a great fear of the keyblade, it was one of the first things he had learned, Leon being the one to tell him. They would stop at nothing to find Sora and destroy him, destroy the keyblade and put an end to light. With Sora running away, Maleficent would have wasted no time in sending out hoards of heartless after him. They would find him quicker and faster than anything or anybody else.

Backtracking from the window, Sora ducked away from the sight. "You said they got here a while ago?" He asked, voice tight. Belle hesitated a moment, but nodded nonetheless. Sora closed his eyes, the words leaving his mouth rather regretfully. "I have to leave." He whispered, hands balling into fists at his sides.

"You can't go!" Belle said, astonished. "It's alright, they wont come inside. Beast barricaded the door, they can't get in any other way. You're safe here, Sora, we can protect you."

"No, it's not that." Sora said quickly. "I lied to you earlier." He ignored Belle's accusing glare, Beast's huff of surprise. "The Organization, Xaldin is one of them, the man that tried to turn you against everyone, Beast. They're after me. I have no idea where Donald or Goofy are, if they're even alive," Belle's glare faded, gasping sharply. "but all I know is that once they see the clog of heartless like this, they are going to know in an instant that I'm here. Please just let me go. I can go back to Hollow Bastian, I can try and find Yuffie or Leon, they can help me."

Belle opened her mouth to disagree, but with Beast's pointed look, she snapped her mouth shut. Nodding once, she added quickly. "Let me bandage you up at least, that way you wont hurt as much."

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Belle watched Sora leave regretfully, still biting her lower lip, a nervous habit she had since she was little girl. But nevertheless, she did not object to anything. She had put bandages tightly around Sora's arms and legs, a patch earning a place across his forehead and cheek. She did not know how the boy could walk with such dignity in the face of danger, leaving by himself for that matter. But his head was high, and his strides were sure despite his limp. He was truly the perfect fit for the keyblade. She would never wonder again what made him stand out.

"I hope Goofy and Donald are okay." Belle said in a whisper. Beast wrapped his arms around her protectively, hugging her close. After a beat of silence, Belle added. "The little duck was so fluffy. But I don't think he liked me holding him."

"They'll be fine. But even if they aren't…I've seen Sora go on without them. He'll be fine."

"I hope so." Belle said. "And maybe-" Suddenly, the door slammed open, a crashing sound seeming erupt through the silence. Belle leapt away from Beast in her shock, jumping into the air with a loud scream. Figures flooded into the room, both of them making a grab for the two. Belle was held back by one man, the other three took Beast, having more difficulty. The prince was snarling with anger, thrashing and lashing out at his captors.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop fighting!" One of the cloaks yelled.

In answer, the man behind Belle jerked her closer, a knife flashing out and held to her neck. In response, Belle screamed even louder, eyes filled with fear as she went unmoving. These were the people Sora had been talking about. Despite the danger he put them in, Belle could not describe the happiness she felt that he had gotten away in time. But going by the wounds the boy had, these were not people to be messed with. The thought made her go still, like a stone in the man's hands.

"Belle!" Beast cried out, voice filled with rage and anger. "Why are you doing this? Let her go!"

"I dunno." The man behind Belle said easily. "Maybe I'll just keep her for a little bit. But then again, I'm getting pretty tired. In fact, I think I feel a stretch coming on." The man put pressure on the girl's neck, the knife sinking in and piercing through her skin. Belle hissed with pain as she felt the knife cut through her, yelping. Best immediately tried to rush to her. But that made the man press the blade in more. "Uh-uh." He said, like he was speaking to a dog. "You stay still, or her head comes off."

Belle closed her eyes, letting out yet another scream. "Beast! Help!" She wailed.

"Belle!" He called back. But he kept his mind, staying still as he looked with large eyes at his princess, unable to save her without killing her in the process. Sniffling, Belle kept where she was, the knife blade sitting in her painfully. "Don't kill her!" Beast yelled, more pleading now. "Take the knife away!"

"Oh, I wont kill her." Another voice spoke up, a man with his hood up, that stood in the corner. Beside him, stood Maleficent, Beast recognizing her from when he was helping Sora in Hollow Bastian. The witch's eyes were alight with a dark kind of humor as she watched. Behind her, the pack of heartless that were originally outside were crammed into the hall behind her, twitching and writhing with anticipation. They looked poised to attack, the thought making Beast's anger threatening to boil over. "As long as you do a small little favor for us."

"Like what?" Beast grunted.

The man pulled down his hood, yellow eyes blazing into Beast's dark ones. "Where did the brat go?" He questioned.

"I don't know." The prince said stiffly.

"Hmm…that's unfortunate." The man said, with fake sorrow. "Anyway, go ahead, Xigbar."

Belle shrieked as Xigbar started to press on the knife once more. Best immediately reacted, the words fumbling out of his mouth like a waterfall that he was unable to hold back. "Hollow Bastian!" He yelled, guilt rising like a tidal wave inside. "He went to Hollow Bastian!"

"…Interesting." The man said. Perking, he turned, holding out a hand to Xigbar, the man stopping immediately. Belle was crying by now, both out of pain and realization of what was going on. Sora was going to be found, and it was all their fault. "One more thing though." The leader of the men said. The witch smiled even more at this point. "I would like you to do a few things for me, and after you do so, we will leave you in peace."

Beast narrowed his eyes, seething too much to reply. Silence went in the room, nobody answering. Surprisingly, it was Belle who spoke up first. "What do we have to do?" She asked, coming out more of a sob by now. The Leader turned, smiling devilishly as he strode over to her. Beast jerked, but Xigbar threw the monster a look, making him stop at once. Leaning down to look into Belle's eyes, he let out a small laugh.

"We'll play a game." He explained, a sadistic smile worming across his face. "A game of Simon Says, do you know that game?" Belle was too scared to answer. Sighing, he went and explained it anyway. "You do whatever I tell you. But only if I say Simon Says beforehand. Now that we know the rules, we're going to start." Withdrawing a small black device from his cloak, the man brought it up close to Belle's face. "Simon Says, scream."

When Belle didn't do anything, more out of sudden confusion than anything, the man sighed, eyes going over to Xigbar as he nodded. But Belle got the idea before her captor could do anything. "WAIT!" She yelled. "I'll do it! I'll do it!"

"There's a good lass." The Leader purred. "Now, there's something specific I want you to yell, alright? And we don't have much time, so we must get this done quickly." All humor vanished from his eyes, the man's eyes clouding with anger and darkness. Pressing the device up to her once more, he growled angrily. "I want you to beg Sora to come back and save you."

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A/N: PFT. YOU DIDN'T SAY SIMON SAYS! No I'm kidding, Belle isn't cool enough to do that

ANYWHO I will not be here tomorrow to type, I've got to go get my braces on. Fun Fun Fun. And then I get to go play my instrument in marching band for three hours right afterwards. Even more Fun Fun Fun. So you need to make my Wednesday MUCH MUCH brighter than it's looking right now and leave me tons and tons of reviews! :D

Please do, I'm gonna die tomorrow XDDD

YOU LIKE? Xemnas likes…if that counts for anything….:3


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! We got soo many! We have more than 100 now~ :D

I was so excited to start this, I'm so pumped for this story!

So you'd better like…buckle in your seatbelts or whatevers o3o

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It took him a few tries to get where he needed to go, though he did not know how long it took. It must have been a while, but thankfully Sora saw no heartless hounding him on the way there. But it didn't make him all the less cautious than he was now. He treaded lightly, not making any noise at all as he traveled through worlds. If it wasn't Hollow Bastian, he left in the blink of an eye. Not controlling which world he was in was both stressful and frustrating all at once, it was something that made him all the more nervous. He swore that if he got any more anxious, his hair would fall out.

He landed in Land of the Dragons, Hercules's world, and even back in Port Royale for a heartbeat. All of them were left as soon as he got there. He kept having to look over his shoulder, feeling oddly like he was deer smack dab in the middle of deer season. He knew they were after him, he just didn't now where. Stalked by invisible beings, Sora was at his end. But the sooner he could get to Hollow Bastian, the better off he would be for sure. Leon would know what to do surely, and with the help of everybody at his side, they would surely beat the Organization with ease.

Or at least, much more ease than Sora had had in the past. And luck. They would certainly have more luck as well…luck wasn't something on Sora's side most of the time, now that he thought about it.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Sora rushed down the black tunnel, racing for the light. Whether or not he had grown accustomed to the darkness, or it made him more nervous every time he stepped inside, he couldn't be sure. But all he knew that the light was something he always sprinted for, no matter how injured he was. Pretty soon, he burst out into the light, stumbling and letting out a sharp yelp as he stepped right off of a stone platform on accident. Fumbling in the air for split second, Sora saw his life flash before his eyes. And then he fell.

The total of two feet. Landing on his back, Sora blinked rapidly, letting out a sharp cough. Looking around, Sora perked up, blue eyes confused for a moment. But as he looked around, he realized with a sudden spark of excitement that he was in Hollow Bastian. He was currently sitting on the stone street, the steps leading down to the town square to his right. Eyes lighting up, Sora felt like he was full of helium as he jumped to his feet. He was ready to dash down in to the town when suddenly he halted.

He saw a rouge heartless, it WAS a rouge, right? The soldier was shaking his way forward, taking steps on his shaky feet the way that kind of heartless always did. Inhaling sharply, Sora ducked behind a building, pressing his back against the stone tightly. Waiting a few moments, Sora twisted around, peeking around the corner carefully, stretching his neck painfully. Sure enough, the so-called rouge heartless had more heartless on his heels, slowly filling up the square and writhing against each other. They all seemed to be looking right at his hiding place, Sora cursing himself mentally. He must be an idiot if he had thought it was this easy. Of course he would find heartless.

And if the heartless found him, that meant the Organization knew exactly where he was. Ducking his head, Sora huffed to himself angrily. Of course. Shaking himself, the boy stepped cautiously out of his hiding place, steps as silent as he could make them with his limp. Exhaling, Sora closed his eyes, raising his keyblade and pointing it down at the heartless. "Work for me, alright?" He asked the weapon, as if it could answer him. The weapon said nothing of course, but Sora couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed. Pushing it off, the boy aimed his keyblade's tip in the middle of the throng of heartless. "Alright then, here we go. I'm counting on you." He breathed.

"Fire!" He whispered, careful not to raise his voice in case his magic failed him once more. And of course, with the way his magic had been in the past, it did indeed fail him. But instead of doing nothing like Sora had been expecting, the keyblade turned and did the exact opposite. A tidal wave of fire blazed out from the end of his key, unleashing a torrent of flames and fireballs raining down on the heartless below him. The buildings were saved thankfully, with hope nobody inside the stores noticed it. But the town's square was charred and burned, no way was it going to come off with just water.

But the heartless disappeared in a flash. Sora blinked, lowering his keyblade slowly with a thunk on the ground. Snapping into motion, the boy scooted over on his knees to the edge of the small staircase he crouched on, leaning over the side and looking down with a rather subdued expression. Blue eyes wide and mouth pressed in a small line, Sora didn't know whether to be mad that his keyblade didn't listen, or happy the heartless had all vanished.

Deciding to do a mixture of the two, Sora shot to his feet unsteadily, letting out a humorous noise of alarm as he raced down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Nobody had been outside the stores when he had done that, it was a frank miracle. It must be a day where everybody was lazy, Sora hadn't kept enough sense to keep track of time back with the Organization. Running across the square and the burning hot ground, Sora half-ran, half-limped rapidly up the stairs. He was about to rush down the stairs, when a voice stopped him. "Sora!"

Turning around, Sora blinked, a smile catching on his face as he spotted Scrooge standing outside his Ice Cream Parlor, a small, dark-colored popsicle held firmly in his hand. In the other hand, he held his cane, which tapped with surprise on the ground as Sora smiled at him. "My dear! My boy, where have you been? The whole town is in a right state looking for you!" Pausing, the duck took in Sora's bandages and torn clothes. "You look as though you've been throwing yourself in front of a few cars there."

"Feels like it." Sora replied, too happy to explain his situation. "Listen, Scrooge, I have to head back to Merlin's house. If you-" He suddenly broke off, staring at the duck with a sudden sense of intensity. "You're Donald's uncle, right!" He demanded, dropping to his knees at once as he looked at Scrooge with wide eyes. The duck jumped slightly, but reminded himself that Sora had always been a bit too rowdy than most rich ducks and ducklings he associated himself with. "That's correct." He said with a nod of affirmation.

"Is he okay?" Sora asked, blue eyes wide and earnest.

Scrooge seemed surprised by the question. "Of course he's alright!" The rich duck exclaimed, watching Sora let out a slow breath of relief. "Passed by here a few hours ago to go and talk to Yuffie and Leon. I haven't seen him come back this way, they might still be there if you hurry." But something from the corner of his eye caught his attention, the duck leaping into the air as he waved his cane wildly back and forth. Sora leaned back, wincing as the older duck accidentally hit him over the head. "Great Scott!" He yelled in disbelief. "What happened to the town square!"

"Gotta go!" Sora yelled, side-stepping as he pushed himself up rapidly. Rushing away, Sora fumbled down the stairs clumsily, gripping the metal railing going down as he did so. Leaning against the supporter, Sora straightened, looking across the landscape from where he stood. He could just see Merlin's house over the rise, the small house secluded from the other homes of the people that lived here. Smiling, Sora quickened his pace. He was going to be fine. This was all going to be over quicker than he had dared hope any time before.

Back at the town square, the door of the items shop swung open with a creak, the group walking out of the shop loaded with bags of clothes, potions, food, etc. They talked amongst themselves, quiet comments about things that didn't matter such as the weather or the frustrating fact that it took forever to get anything at the Item's shop. Yuffie was not in the conversation, though. The girl looked deflated, eyes pools of misery as she looked at the ground. She did not interject a chipper comment into the conversation, like she would have at any other time. But after hearing the news that Goofy and Donald brought, the girl was silent as a stone, eyes teary. Nobody tried to cheer her up. Leon tried to do that before they had all left, earning himself a slap across the face, the red mark still showing brightly. It showed as a warning to the others around the man, who were trying not to make it obvious they were looking at the slap wound.

But the conversation stopped as soon as the group got outside. Yuffie looked up, confused. Immediately, she gasped, trying to control her surprise at the burned stones and charred plants that the group had planted only a few weeks ago. The flowers had been growing really pretty, too… "What is this?" Yuffie gasped, looking over at Leon. Her sadness went forgotten for a moment, the girl waiting for Leon to explain somehow. But the man looked just as shocked as he was.

Dropping her bags, Yuffie rushed out into the crime scene, Donald and Goofy following at once. Despite Leon's call of warning, Yuffie dropped into a crouch, reaching down and tentatively pressing her hand against the blackened surface. Immediately, it singed her hand, the girl drawing back sharply with a hiss of pain. Goofy and Donald made a move for her, but she shook her head, pain forgotten in her thought. "It must have been something really powerful." She murmured, gray eyes narrowed and distant. "It must have happened a short while ago too, or it was just so powerful it's still hot."

"It wasn't like this when we were coming to the Item Shop." Goofy threw in.

"But it took that guy forever to work." Donald grumbled in reply.

"So it happened when we were in the shop." Yuffie finished for them, pushing herself up. Looking around expectantly, the girl came up with nothing, grumbling under her breath. "What you do think it was?" She asked, eyebrows raised. Leon shrugged, not bothering to say anything in case he ruined the girl's mood once more and made her sad again. Somehow whenever he opened his mouth, the girl's mood blew up like a balloon. He just hoped his face wasn't as easy to show emotion as Yuffie. Even a wrong look could send the girl reeling.

"We should try and find whatever it is." Leon said firmly. "It could be something dangerous."

Of course, Yuffie was first to voice what everybody was too afraid to say. "It could be Sora."

"…" Leon ducked his head, trying not to show his doubt. "…Right." He agreed after a moment. "It could be him too." Though his tone told Yuffie that he did not believe it one bit.

Sora burst into Merlin's study, a large smile on his face. "Merlin!" He yelled, looking around wildly. Smile fading, Sora's smile turned into a confused frown as he stared at the empty place in front of him. Where was everybody? They were usually here, helping to restore Hollow Bastian, right? So why was the house as empty as a broken eggshell? Stepping inside, Sora peered around the small home, eyes narrowed. "Hello?" He called again, blue eyes worried. Where was everybody? Were they alright?

Scrooge had told him that the others were fine, he wouldn't lie to Sora. Especially since he had seen how desperate the keybearer had been in finding out the truth. Shaking himself, Sora pushed the scary thoughts down. Of course the others were fine, they were probably in a different part of Hollow Bastian right now. Who was he to say they couldn't be out and about? Maybe…were they LOOKING for him? The thought sent a thrill of hope through his chest, but he immediately snuffed it out at once. He wouldn't get his hopes up.

It would be alright if they weren't out looking for him, after all, he had been missing a lot time. Longer than Sora could count, considering that there were no windows in his prison/room. But still, where could they be? The thought came at once. They would be up in the Bailey. Turning around, Sora shut the door firmly behind him, scanning the coast before he even thought about making his way up the stone ledges. Walking carefully, Sora made his way in the direction of the Bailey, steps slightly hurried as he went along. He kept glancing quickly over his shoulder, determined not to let his guard down for an instant. And yet nothing happened. It was as empty as a ghost town here. Which, surprisingly, did not comfort him at all. Instead, it continued to rub him the wrong way.

Finally, he climbed to the top of the Bailey, puffing and huffing for breath. Skin stinging, Sora peered around the corner, eyes flashing back and forth with care. Just as he thought. There was nothing in the Bailey but rocks and the small grate fence. Muttering under his breath, Sora pushed himself back, face grouchy and frustrated. He came all this way, and he was rewarded with an empty town. Well, he was sure that the others would turn up eventually. Taking that into mind, Sora sat down on the edge of the towering brick wall, holding his face in his hands and looking glumly down at the ground below.

After a while of him sitting there alone, he heard a small mumbling of voices getting closer. Perking up, Sora braced himself to jump down, but stopped himself at the last moment, freezing as he listened for the words, blue eyes narrowed to slits. "I don't see why we have to split up to look for this thing." The voice grumbled, Sora's eyes lighting up at once. He would know that high, complaining voice anywhere! "It's not like it's the most of our problems."

"Well, it COULD be." Another voice sounded, Sora smiling wider as he recognized that voice as well. "I mean- maybe Yuffie is right. Maybe it COULD be Sora."

"I'll believe that when you fly."

"I already flew, Donald." Goofy pointed out.

"…Shut up."

"Ohmigosh!" Now that it was finally happening, Sora could not believe it. He had escaped from the Organization, and he had made it back to Hollow Bastian. Now that he had found Donald and Goofy, everything would be fine. He would fight alongside his friends. Fumbling, he mostly fell off of the ledge, landing with a rather not-so-graceful thud on the ground. Righting himself rapidly, Sora limped out of his cover, holding onto the wall for support. "Goofy!" He yelled, watching as his friends started to turn the corner away from him. "Donald! Wait! It's me! I'm here!"

For a frightening moment, Sora thought that they hadn't heard him. But slowly, the two turned to face him, eyes wide with both disbelief and happiness. Leaning against the wall severely, Sora beamed at the two. "I'm back!" He repeated to the still-unmoving two. "I escaped!" Still, the two did not move. Smile turning into a small frown, Sora's shoulders sagged, the happiness shining in his eyes slowly melting away into slight disappointment. "…I thought you would be more happy to see me." Sora mumbled softly.

Silence weighed for a moment, the three staring at each other back and forth. Then Goofy snapped into reality first. "Sora!" The dog cried with utmost joy going unhidden in his voice. Sora smiled once more, only having time to do that small little movement before both Goofy and Donald crashed into the keybearer, sending them all falling back down to the ground. Sora ignored the sharp pain he felt from the movement, the happiness warming his heart too great for him to even try and focus of it. Having difficulty doing so, Sora wrapped his arms tightly around his friends, laughing and crying at the same time.

The two drawing back, Donald started yelling something, but his words were too close to try and figure out what he was saying. Years of practice it seemed, Goofy was the one to clarify. "Yuffie and everyone has been so worried, Sora! They'll be glad to know you're okay!" Pausing, Goofy looked the keybearer up and down. "You ARE okay, right?" He asked. Sora nodded rapidly, not caring to reply with words. Reaching up, Sora wiped his eyes roughly, cursing himself mentally.

Letting his hand slap back down to the ground, Sora looked long and hard at Goofy and Donald. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys." He said, a little breathlessly. In response, the two smiled back at him. Up until a few short minutes ago, Sora had thought they were dead. Now, away from the Organization, Sora thought that it was just too good to be true. "Where are the others? They weren't in Merlin's house."

"They all went up to the Items store. We went with them." Goofy explained. "Was that from you in the town square?" The question was asked with a hint of disbelief, as if Goofy had thought for sure it wasn't him. Sore decided to ignore it. After all, if he had seen the mess he made in the town with just one magic spell a while ago, he would have thought of himself as crazy too. Glancing down at his keyblade, Sora opened his mouth to explain the weird finding of his weapon not really listening to him anymore, when suddenly, movement flashed in the corner of his eyes.

Perking up, Sora scooted away from his friends, neck craning almost painfully to the side as he narrowed his eyes. "Did you guys see that?" He asked. Goofy and Donald straightened, looking from where Sora was gazing and back at him, concern, worry, and fear all obvious in their eyes. Staring at the spot for a moment, Sora hesitantly looked back as nothing else happened. "Let's go back to Yuffie and the others." Sora volunteered, anxious to get out of here. The other two nodded, getting to the feet and glancing back the way they had come.

Looking back down at Sora, Goofy smiled the same clumsy, goofy smile he always gave people. Stooping down, Sora's friend offered his hand, waiting for the boy to take his gesture. Giving a grateful sigh, Sora started to reach for his friend's hand, when suddenly he froze, eyes wide. "GET DOWN!" he screamed at once, his voice ringing throughout the silence of the once-peaceful place. His two sidekicks started at once at his sudden yell, whirling around to try and see what was the matter. But it was too late.

Sora went numb as he watched Xaldin step out of the shadows, his lances already airborne as they shot straight for the two in front of Sora. Tensing his muscles, Sora invented a brain-dead plan of jumping in front of the two, but as soon as he was on his feet, the struck home. The spears buried themselves right into the hearts of the two, Goofy and Donald having no time at all until they staggered backwards, falling immediately to the ground and landing silently, right in front of Sora.

Silence reigned once more, but this was a different kind of silence. Sora felt himself shaking, saw his hand shaking as he reached out and prodded Goofy's unmoving body with a cold feeling of dread. "Goofy…" He rasped, voice hoarse. "…Donald?" His voice rose to a small squeak. Shoulders starting to heave, Sora slowly raised his eyes to see that the other Organization members were gathering around, obviously more than sure that they had caught the keyblade bearer fully by now. Sora was so stunned, he couldn't even speak for a moment, his mouth moving on its own before he finally found his voice. "WHY!" He screamed, so loud that he was sure that every single world would be able to hear his voice and know where he was.

"We warned you." Xemnas said coldly, eyes narrowed to slits as he looked down at the smaller boy. "We warned you out of the goodness of our hearts and you were stupid enough to forget the little detail." Sora's head was hung, the boy staring with wide eyes at the bodies of his two friends. Their eyes were closed, and Sora would have believed they were asleep if it had not been for the large spears protruding from their blood-soaked chests.

Then something inside him broke into a million little pieces, and suddenly, Sora forgot that he was surrounded by his enemies. Jerking forward, Sora wrapped his arms around the bodies of his two best friends, sobbing openly as hot tears streamed down his face like a waterfall. "No!" He said shakily, the words ending with a cry. "Goofy…Donald, don't leave me, please! I need you!" Pushing himself back up, Sora looked down at them with streaming eyes and nose, his face and chest covered with blood by now. "Here- I have a potion!" But before he could even try to reach back in his pockets, he hung his head, inhaling sharply. "…I only have one!" He cried, shoulders shaking up and down as he tried to suppress his crying.

Looking back up at the others, he remembered all too late that they were watching him. Axel stood the farthest away, green eyes heavy with something close to sadness as he looked on, trying to make it seem like he hadn't been staring at Sora. Xemnas watched coldly, knowing all too well that the boy deserved more punishment than this. But the others were chuckling to themselves, trying to bite back their laughter as they frowned, trying to make themselves look serious. The sight made Sora's sadness turn immediately to anger, the boy gritting his teeth as hard as any person could possibly stand, shaking with rage and fury. Eyes turning a dark color, Sora pushed himself off the ground with surprising speed in his state, sprinting for a second before pushing off the ground. He launched himself straight onto Xaldin, the one who had thrown the spears and killed his friends. Eyes wild with anger, hate, and everything else, Sora tackled the man onto the ground, his opponent surprised of course by his sudden attack. Raising his keyblade, Sora let out a half-crazed scream as he brought it down hard on the man, continuing the attack as he slammed his weapon down on his captor.

The others were stunned at first, too surprised to move. Axel snapped to it first, dashing over and ripping Sora away from Xaldin, the man showing wounds already by the way Sora was fighting. Twisting and writhing, Sora kicked back against Axel, landing a blow on the man's shin. Grip loosening for a fraction of a second, Sora whirled around, bringing up his keyblade ready to strike the man back as well. After all, this was all his fault too. But his keyblade immediately reacted, getting burning hot in less than a moment.

Gaping, Sora dropped his weapon, the thing making a shrill clattering sound as it made contact with the ground. Sora leaned down to scoop it back up, when Axel growled, having enough of it. Reaching out, the man grabbed Sora's hands, twisting the boy around forcefully as he gripped his two hands behind his back. The boy tried to struggle away, when Xemnas said coldly. "Don't fight, or we WILL do it again." Gaze sliding over the Goofy and Donald, Sora felt his eyes sting once more, heart aching by now. He thought he was in pain before now, but that was nothing compared to the pain he felt now.

Ducking his head, Sora closed his eyes, shoulders sagging. Feeling this change, Axel waved a black portal up in front of them. The Organization filed through one by one, making a neat and orderly line. Sora kept his empty eyes on Goofy and Donald, tears spilling over once more. He had glimpsed his way to safety, and he had been stupid enough not to take it and run.

He was an idiot. This was all his fault.

The words repeated themselves over and over in his head, until the darkness swallowed him up.

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"It came from over here, right?" Yuffie asked, glancing back at Leon. The man gave a small nod, cautious gaze flickering back and forth over the landscape. They were by Merlin's house, inspecting the territory. When Goofy and Donald didn't return, they decided to go after them. That brought things to now, the ninja and the swordsman walking carefully amongst the town, feet barley making a sound as they went along. "Maybe it's-" Yuffie suddenly broke off, eyes widening as she glanced to the left.

Blinking, Leon followed her gaze, eyes widening with a rare touch of surprise. "Oh, man." He said aloud, glancing at Yuffie with wide eyes. Just showing around the corner, Donald and Goofy were laying motionless on the ground, blood visible even from where Leon and Yuffie stood. As if on silent signal, the two rushed forward in sync with one another, eyes wide as they skidded to a stop in front of the two.

"Please tell me they're not…" The last word went unspoken as Yuffie's hands wrung nervously in front of her. Her gray eyes were round with both sadness and despair, the fact that something big happened while she wasn't there to help making her heart tug. Leon was already set for it. Twisting around, the man rifled through the grocery bag that had been tied onto his belt for safekeeping until they got back to Merlin's house. "Hold this." He grunted, shoving the bags over to her as he withdrew two large bottles.

"Leon, that might not work." Yuffie said. "There's a certain time window going by the way they were injured…" There were a lot more to potions than most people thought, Yuffie's mother taking care to teach her all about them. Leon might only know the basics of them, he might not really get it all. But the man was too deep in thought to even acknowledge that the girl had even said anything. Popping the top off of both the potion bottles, Leon dumped the sparkling contents onto the two's wounds. Leaning back, Leon watched with narrowed eyes as the potion's liquids started to slowly sink back into the heroes' skin. Tense moments followed, Yuffie's hands clasped together tightly, shaking slightly. Her gray eyes were wide with hope, a feeling she had tried to push down the last few weeks.

"…C'mon…" Leon whispered encouragingly. "You can make it."

As if in response, Goofy's flickered open for a moment, Donald's hand twitching ever so slightly. Getting to his feet, Leon nodded to Yuffie. "They'll be fine. They just need rest." He explained. "You get Donald, I'll get Goofy." Yuffie hesitated a moment before nodded, going forward and wrapping her arms gently around Donald, hoisting him up with less effort she had expected. Leon did the same easily for Goofy, and together the two made their way back to Merlin's house.

Yuffie spoke up under the weight of the duck. "What do you think did this?" She puffed.

Leon didn't answer, Yuffie thought that the made didn't hear her. But then he shrugged. "Who knows."

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A/N: I know o3o

Anywho, thanks for reading! I hope you luved it! I hope you review a lot! :D -says hopefully-

Anyway, NO this story will NOT be repetitive. I have it when fanfictions so that, don't you?

I would not have done that if I didn't have anything else to do with, I have BUNCHES in store for this little story! So do not fear whatsoever!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I AM BACK! With WONDERFUL news, if I do say so myself…

My sister has left for camp and has left the computer spaciously open! She shall be gone for a whole entire week, and she has left me up to my own plans with this thing. So, that wasn't a really smart move for her part. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, I had a nagging urge to play Harvest Moon. And dude, once you get sucked into that stupid, addicting, game, there's no going back for like, a week.

So with that being said, I'll finish this up as quick as I can, because my cow is having a baby. O-O

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Axel knew without the slightest hint of doubt in his mind that he was in deep hot water. There was no explaining how mad Xemnas looked, and in the back of his mind, Axel couldn't stop pointing it out to himself that this was all his fault. He hadn't thought that Sora would have been smart enough to figure out a way to trick him and escape. Perhaps he shouldn't have underestimated the brat, he figured. Xemnas always preached about never underestimating their tasks, even more so before they even tried to think up a plan of capturing the keyblade bearer. It wasn't that Axel never LISTENED, it was just that he…never listened. It had seemed like something routine back then. But now, he really wished he had listened to at least one of those speeches. MIGHT have helped, just a little bit.

Shaking his head to clear it, Axel glanced over with a slight wince over at Xemnas, the man's look of utter annoyance, loathing, and mounting anger reflected in the man's bright yellow eyes as he glowered sharply, his footsteps stomping as the line of Organization members trooped through the castle. Sighing mentally, Axel looked forward once again, staring at Xaldin's back as he trailed after the man. Though Xaldin tried to hide it as best he could, Axel had seen the bloody nose he had tried to cover up.

The red-haired man couldn't help but snicker at the man's face as he had caught sight of it. Although he knew for a fact that he wasn't supposed to, Axel had to force himself not to laugh outright. It wasn't that Axel hated Xaldin, he just really disliked him. The man was always thinking he was the boss of everyone and everything remotely connected to the Organization. He was surprised that Xemnas hadn't noticed that yet. Glancing down to where he was still gripping Sora's hands tightly behind the boy's back, Axel fought not to smile. He couldn't help feeling a flash of guarded respect for the teen. It wasn't everyday that Axel could watch Xaldin get hurt. Anybody who thought the same about the man like he did earned something in his book.

After all he remembered all the time that he and Rox-

A muttered growl from Sora made Axel's mind snap forward into reality. He realized that he had accidentally been squeezing Sora's hands tighter than he needed to. He was gripping the boy's hands so hard, that his knuckles had turned white in the process. Mumbling a quick apology, Axel loosened his grip, feeling slightly flustered. How long until they got to where they needed to go? Sometimes this castle seemed a lot bigger than it really was. But was he ready to get where they were all going, anyway?

He was sure that Xemnas wasn't done with Sora, and from what Axel had seen from when they were at the Beast's castle, he could see that Xemnas was not going to be playing his game anymore. Frankly, Axel would have stopped playing a long time ago if he was Xemnas, but he wasn't about to point that out anytime soon to the man. As he said before, he was going to be in as much trouble as Sora was going to be, most likely.

Finally, Xaldin came to an abrupt halt, Axel reacting in time to barley bump into the man. Jerking to a halt, the line immediately dispersed, the others scattering until they were almost a ragged half-circle, all facing the door expectantly. Axel joined them, still holding onto Sora. For a moment, they were all just staring at the door, Axel waiting for a nice 'please' from somebody before he moved. But when he caught Xemnas's eye on accident, he immediately started forward, not liking the deathly glare not hidden at all in the man's flinty eyes. Pushing Sora forward a little gentler than he wanted, Axel managed to get the door open, and glanced back at Xemnas, wariness clawing at the inside of his stomach. The man was taking in everything, eyes almost hungry as he watched Axel's every move. Looking back, Axel flinched for a moment before he roughly shoved Sora into the room, the boy surprised as he fell over onto his face. Axel was ready to slam the door in case Sora tried to rush out after him, but he blinked, hand falling back to his side with a slap.

Sora was lying on the ground motionless, not even moving a little bit. Glancing worriedly back at the crowd behind him, Axel realized with a stab of panic that everybody was watching, as if they were a crowd in the movie theatre watching a show. Xaldin had a smug grin on his face, unable to hide the amusement he was feeling at seeing Axel like this. Huffing angrily, Axel shot the man a glare before turning, eyes irritated. "C'mon, Sora, get up." Axel said, covering up his exasperation as his voice turned crisp and almost business-like.

"No." Sora retorted, voice slightly muffled.

Trying to ignore the muffled snickers behind him, Axel started forward, walking forward until he was standing over Sora, the boy still refusing to move. "Sora, this is stupid." Axel said, voice coming out more whiney than he wanted it to. "Come ON, Sora, don't make me make you get up." He hoped that last part made sense, he wasn't sure it even made sense to him.

"No." Sora repeated, more firmly this time. "I'm not moving."

"Yes you are!" Axel yelled. "Get UP!"

"Make me." Sora challenged, turning slightly so that his blue eyes glared up at the man. Taken aback by the frosty coldness that resided in Sora's eyes, Axel stood still for a moment, mouth slightly open. Grimacing though, he made himself focus with difficulty. He just couldn't CONCENTRATE with those blue eyes looking up at him. They were so alike, and yet so very different all at the same time. His head started to swim as Sora glared even more angrily up at him, he couldn't-

"Axel." Xemnas said coldly, snapping him out of his state. Blinking rapidly, the man turned questioningly, sighing through his nose as he realized that Xemnas looked more than a little disappointed. "Follow me." He said tartly. "The others can take care of the boy if you are not up to it." And with that, he turned, striding away down the hall. Glancing back at Sora with a glower, he realized that the boy was sticking his tongue out at him. What was he, FIVE?

Growling under his breath, Axel hunched his shoulders together tightly, stalking through the crowd of now-openly-laughing Organization members and hurrying after Xemnas quickly. The man had turned the corner already, and Axel broke into a run just to catch up to him. When he did find the leader of the Organization, he was standing out on the balcony, overlooking the city underneath him with a small glimmer in his eyes. The rain had just started to slow, small raindrops dripping on Axel occasionally as he walked out to meet him. Knowing what would happen, Axel stopped a little ways away from the man. "Yes, Xemnas?" He asked softly, eyes on the ground. It was rare moments like this he wasn't all smart-alecky and sarcastic. He didn't like it.

"Axel." Xemnas said softly, turning around to look at him crossly. Axel wouldn't have been more effected if the man had yelled at him. Those who had 'talks' with Xemnas usually did not repeat what had happened. Waiting patiently, Axel's green eyes glimmered with a small hint of fright. "I take it that you have noticed Saix's disappearance, correct?"

The question rather surprised Axel, the fire-wielder starting, confusion ringing through his eyes. He had been expecting something against him, not against Saix. And to be quite frank, no, he had not noticed the man's absence. Saix was always something of Xemnas's right-hand man, he had just supposed that he had been with Xemnas all this time. Did he leave the Organization? Fear melting away bit by bit, Axel shook his head. "I haven't." He answered.

Xemnas nodded once to himself, having expected the answer from Axel. "Well, it's quite simple to where he has left. And I'd have thought that you of all people would want to know the purpose of his leaving." Axel figured that nobody else had noticed the man being gone, but he wasn't about to point that out. Curiosity making him stay silent as he looked expectantly to Xemnas. After a moment, the man explained. "He has been busy trying to find out a way of bringing Roxas back to us."

The sentence made Axel stop altogether, the man's eyes slowly growing wide with shock. "But we've gone into so much trouble in making sure Sora stays here!" He protested, his mouth having a mind of its own. "I mean- Roxas left the Organization willingly, remember? Who's to say he wont do it again?" Was he really talking like this? Was he really shooting down the notion of his best friend returning back here once more? Why?

Xemnas turned, eyeing Axel suspiciously, obviously thinking the same things. But he went on after a moment, still looking at him oddly. "That may be true." He said finally. "But you must think of it this way. Roxas would be much easier to persuade to help us. After all, he is a Nobody just like us. Sora has the grace of already owning his own heart." The words had turned sarcastic. "He doesn't understand the seriousness of the situation." Pausing a moment, Xemnas glanced up at the moon, round overhead in the sky. "Kingdom Hearts is a little sliver more than halfway finished." He murmured softly, looking down across the wet city. "We need much more than this. We're not even close."

"I think halfway is pretty close." Axel muttered under his breath, not sure if Xemnas head him.

"Anyway." Xemnas turned, a hard stare back on his face. "I hope you realize the error of your ways." His words were laced with anger once again. Axel wasn't sure whether or not he was relieved by that. "Because of you this whole operation could have been for nothing. You almost risked our plans, and you nearly ruined hopes of Kingdom Hearts being established quicker than usual."

Ducking his head, Axel sighed. "I know." He murmured. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it."

Xemnas hesitated, and Axel could feel the whole 'Never Underestimate Your Enemy' speech like an oncoming train. But to his surprise, the man didn't even try to start the spiel. Instead of that, he spoke up, voice full of authority and anger. "In punishment to your actions, you will have to have somebody aid you when you are guarding Sora." Axel figured it was fair mostly, and it surely wouldn't be as boring. But the man's next words made Axel want to kick a puppy. "Xaldin will help you guard Sora at all times. You are not to take your shift without him by you."

Did Xemnas do that on purpose? Pick the person he least liked! Seething with anger, Axel's teeth massed together tightly, grinding against once another and making soft scraping noises as he did so. Xemnas didn't bother to address his sourness at the situation, instead brushing past him and making for wherever he went after he did his things. Axel wasn't ever sure where Xemnas stayed. "It's a punishment, Axel." He called coldly over his shoulder, not in the mood to justify himself for too long.

Axel huffed, glaring at the ground. "I'm going to end up killing Xaldin." He growled to nobody.

…Or was it a promise?

Same difference.

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After Axel left, Sora got up on his own, watching with dark satisfaction as the man stalked after Xemnas. He hoped with all his heart that he was getting punished, and whatever was in store for him was something bad. Usually Sora wouldn't even try and think like this, but after a while, he found that the thoughts came to him more and more easily by now. The thought would have startled him earlier, but now he just welcomed it. If they wanted to still keep him here, he was going to make them regret it SO much. His eyes were still narrowed as he watched Axel turn a corner, vanishing from sight. Hoping that he would stay away longer this time, Sora eyed the other Organization members still staring at him through the door. Xaldin looked the most furious, his eyes blazing with anger as he met eyes with the smaller boy.

Blinking, Sora's eyes lit up with a kind of suppressed humor as he saw Xaldin's bloody nose. It looked like it had stopped bleeding a while ago, but that didn't matter. It was still there. With the silence pressing on everybody, Sora supposed they were waiting for him to say something. "That new look is really good on you, Xaldin." Sora said, voice bitter as he glared at them man across from him.

Xaldin growled angrily. "Don't push it, kid." He warned gravely.

Sora sniffed disdainfully. "It's not like you can do anything else to me." Sora said thickly.

"Not to you, maybe." Xaldin sneered. The others exchanged glances, obviously knowing something that Sora did not. Fighting back another insult, Sora continued to glare, his face saying everything that he did not. 'I refuse to call you on that bluff.' Xaldin got the message clear as day, though, unable to hide his satisfied laugh. "Oh, that's right. You don't know what happened, do you?" His voice turned into one filled with mock-pity. "Poor little kid. Doesn't know anything because nobody cares enough about him to tell him."

"Shut up!" Sora yelled, anger making his eyes sting and blur.

Turning over to Luxord, Xaldin held out his hand to the man, jerking his head back to Sora as if it meant something. Glancing between the two for a moment, Luxord smiled, reaching into his cloak and withdrawing out a small black box. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Sora recognized the thing to be a tape recorder. Not finding much interest, and yet at the same time wondering what they were up to, Sora kept his mouth shut, watching the two men with guarded curiosity.

"I suppose you thought that if you left early enough, we wouldn't be able to track you back to your little hideaway." Xaldin said dramatically, striding forward into the room and ignoring Sora's glare increase as he got closer. But Sora's expression slowly deflated uncertainly as Xaldin went on. He was talking about… Xaldin noticed the change in the boy's face, smiling even more at the sight of it. "Yep." He said triumphantly. "Your little beast of a friend and that little maiden with him. Come to think of it, I wonder what that girl saw in the animal, he's quite hideous if you ask me. And easy to fool."

Sora growled in his throat, realizing that this was the man that had tried to turn Beast into a heartless. If Sora had not been there, that would probably be the case, and who knows what could have happened to him by now if Beast was here with the Organization. Shaking the useless thought off of his shoulders, Sora jumped with surprise as Xaldin leaned down so his face was right in front of Sora's own. Scooting backwards stubbornly, Sora looked the man up and down.

"Did you wonder how we found you, boy?" Xaldin asked, tilting his head to the side. Sora looked a little taken aback. "After all, you did in fact kill all the heartless we sent out in search. So what do you think it was that blew your cover?"

Getting what the man was implying, Sora glared once more. "Best would never betray me!" He yelled, eyes growing alight with blue flames of anger. "He and Belle promised to protect where I was going, don't you DARE try to tell me it was their fault!" He wouldn't believe a word of it, they were his friends. They would give up where he went as soon as Donald and Goofy would have as well. Donald and Goofy…immediately Sora's eyes started to burn once more. In retaliation to the sudden swell of emotion, Sora stomped it back down angrily, kicking it to be the last thought on his mind. He didn't want to think about the two in front of these people.

"Oh, I wont try." Xaldin said almost dismissively. "Trying means there's a chance it wont turn out." Pausing a moment, the man brought the tape recorder closer to Sora's face, Sora too irritated to try and think about moving. "Why don't we just see who's lying, here, hmm?" And with that, he jabbed his finger down on a button of the recorder. It wasn't exactly a tape recorder, Sora realized. He didn't know what it was. But there was indeed sound coming out of the end, the people around Sora immediately growing dead silent. Blinking, Sora's eyes narrowed with confusion as he leaned forward slightly to listen better.

Immediately, he regretted it. A loud, piercing scream exploded from the end of the device, Sora shrinking away for a millisecond, ears ringing. But his eyes widened with shock as he recognized the person who was screaming. Forgetting that there were other people around, Sora's mouth dropped open slightly, eyes becoming round with fright and desperation as he looked down at the device. It was Belle! He started to shake his head slowly, as if it would have been help to her at all. But then another voice happened to flick onto the track, the voice of Beast, Sora recognized as well.

As the words met Sora's eyes, the boy froze, eyes widening with shock and hurt. "He's in Hollow Bastian! He's in Hollow Bastian!" The Beast roared, Sora's shoulder drooping as everything seemed to stop for a moment. Then Xemnas's voice spoke up, a smile obvious in the words that the man spoke. "…Interesting." The man muttered.

Switching the device off, Xaldin changed to glare sharply at Sora. "You see?" He asked, for once not taking any pleasure in seeing Sora's shocked face. "Your so-called 'friends' betrayed you, they didn't protect you in any way, shape, or form. You thought wrong, and let me tell you, they gave up their secret pretty darn fast, kid." When Sora still didn't respond, he snickered. "They did it to protect themselves. But in the end it didn't matter anyway."

Sora jerked at the words, starting and looking up at Xaldin with something in the middle of fear and anger. Gritting his teeth together, Sora tried to deicide whether or not the man was lying. But it was then that the last words finally connected with him, the boy's eyes widening. "What do you mean?" He asked slowly, fear tingeing the last part of his words. Xaldin was about to press a button, but it was apparently the wrong one.

Another set of something that was recorded started up, Xaldin's own voice coming out the end. "…Crap…"

Luxord's voice sounded, the man obviously irritated. "What now?" He asked from the tape.

"…I think I accidentally turned this on."

"How- why?"

"I don't know! If I knew why, would I be telling you about it!"

Sora blinked, face clearing as he looked at the device with a raised eyebrow.

"Just turn it off before the Superior catches you! He told you not to touch it!"

"I bumped it or something. I don't know how to turn it off!"

"Come ON."

"Well, do you know how!"

"Yes, like this, idiot."

The tape ended.

Sora and Xaldin were quiet for a moment, Xaldin bringing the device closer and rapidly trying to figure out either which button he needed to press to show Sora whatever he was talking about before, or to try and delete that tape of him, which Sora would have name the top priority. But that was just him. Anger riding up his stomach, Sora snapped. "You're even stupider than I thought you were."

But Xaldin only scowled angrily. "You're going to make me lose it, kid." He growled.

"My name is Sora, and you shall only address me as such." The boy sniffed, covering his recent betrayal and hurt with his attitude that he KNEW Xaldin could never get enough of. "Furthermore, if you REALLY don't like me making fun of you and mocking you, you should then at least try to make it a littler harder for me to do so. So far, you're not really helping yourself by making it so easy." He then threw the same glare he threw at Axel to Xaldin.

At this, the others -who had long since come into the room as well- laughed loudly. Xaldin stepped back, pushing himself to his feet as he looked down his nose to Sora, who remained sitting on the ground. "You think that little look is going to phase us just as much as it did with Axel?" Sora's face fell, looking a little confused at this. Xaldin went on, not bothering for an answer. "Axel is too much of a push-over to actually take more than that, eh, Sora?" Sora's name was spoken with a voice veiled with tones of mockery and sarcasm.

Twitching, Sora yelled to cut them off. "What do you mean!" He shouted, angered blue eyes flashing from Xaldin and the group behind him. Catching the gazes of the others trained on him, Sora briefly wondered if he should try and offer them some popcorn, but decided now wouldn't be much of a good time for things like that. He was still confused.

"That's the same look that he used to give Axel!" Xaldin scoffed, turning and glancing back at the people behind him with a chuff of amusement. The others joined in the laughter, eyes glittering with amusement as Sora pulled the same face again, making them laugh even harder. Sora started to open his mouth to say something else, when Xaldin cut him off. "Axel will NEVER be able to handle you!" Xaldin said, roaring with laughter by now. "I'd love to see him try, wouldn't you all!"

"And why is that?" Sora asked, not offended by the question, considering it meant Axel couldn't stand up to him. But he guessed that that wasn't at all what the others were implying when they said that. Nevertheless, Sora just now realized the way Axel was always turning up when he needed help. He was always the one to bring him food, and always there when the other Organization members started to take things to far, snapping at them to cut it out. He had never given thought to it before…and yet, it was true. Eyes narrowing slowly, Sora looked at them all expectantly. "What are you talking about?"

Xaldin looked over at Luxord, giving a small nod. Before Sora could process what was happening, the man rushed forward, grabbing Sora's arms and holding them tightly. Letting out a shocked noise, Sora started to struggle, watching with wide, scared eyes as Xaldin withdrew one of his lances, the tip of it glinting in the sharp light of the room. Breathing quickening, Sora started to expect the same fate as his friends had shared together, but he slowly relaxed as Xaldin turned, facing the wall.

Bringing his arm back, Xaldin swung forward, stabbing his weapon into the wall at full-force. Sora watched silently, not trying to break free anymore, knowing it wouldn't help at all. The teen raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side as Xaldin started to bend the weapon sharply, making it so the end of it was bending back to the wall. It was making a triangle of sorts, a small triangle with a really bumpy tip. But it shocked Sora to see how easily Xaldin bent the weapon, he thought it would be more difficult than that. But he supposed that Xaldin ended up having to un-bend it after fights, a more routine things than anything else. What surprised him was how Xaldin got the other end of the weapon stuck into the wall as well. That probably took effort. But it was effort for nothing, he guessed. He didn't understand what was going on. Throwing an irritated look behind him at Luxord, Sora looked back, disgruntled.

As if on silent signal, Luxord pulled Sora to his feet, shoving him roughly forward to the triangle, which was uncalled for. Wincing, Sora had to concentrate on not falling on his face as he was shoved forward. But finally, they came to a stop, Sora left staring at the now-mangled lance sticking to the wall. When nobody moved for a few seconds, Sora looked sarcastically at Xaldin. "What do you want me to do, be an art critic?" He growled bitterly. The man responded by bringing out a small thing from his cloak, glinting silver in the light.

Once Sora realized what they were, he glared all the more angrily. Bringing his hands out in front of him, Luxord shifted so that there was space on his wrists. Slapping on of the locks on Sora's wrist, Xaldin started to raise Sora's hand so that the chain of the handcuffs would rest across the lance's side. Realizing where this was going, Sora started to thrash, trying to wriggle out of their grips. If his hands were locked on either side of the lance, there was no way he would get out on his own. But that was the plan, he guessed.

Jerking Sora back and forth rapidly, Luxord shook Sora like a rag doll. Head spinning, Sora was dazed, the world spinning around him as he blinked rapidly. Xaldin took this chance and locked Sora's one free hand on the other side of the lance. Sora's arms were now raised up so he looked like he was on a roller coaster. Deadpanning, Sora looked down, realizing that his feet barley touched the ground. Was he always this short, or was this whole thing causing him to shrink?

Locked to the lance, Sora had to choice now but to keep still. Blue eyes far more than irritated, Sora seethed with anger, teeth mashed together. Xaldin stared at him for a minute, smiling darkly. "You know, if I was an art critic-"

"Shuuuuuuutttt uppppppppp!" Sora yelled, cutting the man off angrily. "You got me here, now what?"

"Well, I just wanted to give you a little preview of what we did ourselves." Sora watched as Xaldin placed the recorder on the ground, just a little bit out of reach from Sora's feet. "You must be so heartbroken after your 'friends' are the reason you've been captured and will never escape again." He flashed Sora a look of mock-pity, which Sora immediately glowered at. "But you'll be glad to know that we took care of them for you."

Sora's face cleared at the last part, expression turning slightly worried as Xaldin pressed the play button. It was silent. "We'd better get out of here." Xaldin said to the people around him. "Wouldn't want to be here when this all folds out." Sora watched with a slightly disapproving look as the others filed out of the room, slamming the door behind him sharply. He still have questions he needed answered. Like why Axel couldn't look at him too long. Or why he wasn't as hateful to him as the others. Not that he was complaining.

Suddenly, the device snapped to life, filling up the entire room with another loud scream, filled with pain and fear. Sora jerked at the noise, blue eyes wide as he looked down at the black box. "BEAST!" Belle screamed, pain clear in every octave she screamed in. "HELP!" The girl was sobbing, Sora's mind racing as is breathing hitched slightly.

"Belle!" It was Beast's voice, thick with panic and worry. "Don't kill her! Take the knife away!"

"Beast! It hurts!" Belle cried, her words almost lost in the way she was sobbing.

"You said you wouldn't kill her!" Beast roared, almost making Sora's ears lose their hearing. "Take away the weapon before I go over there and rip it out of your cold-" He broke off as he let out a pained grunt, obviously something happening to him that Sora could not see. Panicking, Sora's breathing quickened, the boy starting to thrash forward, attempting to get out of the bonds around his arms. "Belle! Hang on!" The Beast's voice was full of pain by now.

But it had to be nothing compared to what Belle must have been feeling. She inhaled sharply, gasping as she called out yet again for her prince. But Beast didn't reply. Then Belle yelled something that made Sora forget how to breath altogether. "Sora!" Belle sobbed in a scream, full of desperation. "Sora come back!" She cried. "Sora please help us!"

The cool voice of Xemnas sounded over their voices. "Don't forget," He said coolly. "Sora is the reason for all of this. If you had not sheltered him here, this would not be happening. This is all. His. Fault." Sora ducked his head, closing is eyes tightly as tears wormed their way out of his eyes, dripping down his cheeks quickly, landing with an inaudible splash on the ground. The boy was trembling, listening as Belle and The Beast roared his name, calling his back in hopes for him to rescue the two of them.

And he never came.

The longer it went on, the louder their cries got, the Organization relentless in whatever form of torture they were inflicting on the two. Sora was trembling where he hung, twisting and writhing as he tried to get out of the handcuffs. As if he could jump out and flee to their Castle, as if he could apologize to them. But the tape went on and on. Sora couldn't even fathom how long it had been.

Suddenly, Beast roared louder than all the rest, screaming Belle's name with desperation and sudden sadness. Sora stopped moving altogether, lower lip trembling as tears streamed down his face freely by now. "BELLE!" The Beast yelled, voice slightly choked. "NO!"

"…no…" Sora whispered, voice trembling and choked with sobs.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!" Beast roared. "BELLE! GET UP!"

There was no response from the girl.

"NOOOO!" Sora screamed at the recorder, as if it were all the stupid thing's fault. "TURN IT OFF!" He screamed, words ending with sobs. He knew for a fact they were all listening to him on the other side of the door. "TURN IT OFF, PLEASE! I WONT TRY TO RUN AWAY AGAIN! TURN IT OFF, PLEASEEEE!" Sora wailed, gripping the metal of the handcuffs as hard as he could, sure that it would leave a mark on his skin afterwards. But nobody came.

Beast's cries almost matched Sora's perfectly, the boy going limp as he ducked his head, crying freely. Then the tape went quiet.

Only to start itself over with a scream for help.

That one almost matched Sora's own as well.

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A/N: Well darn it, I wrote a lot more than I was planning to.

Anyway, sorry for the ooberly long chapter, I guess XDD

I hoped you LUVED. I know Sora luved. He luved very much~

Review please~! :D

The more reviews, the more I'll update! :D

BTW: The chapter I left for the Simpsons, remember? …I got upstairs…and they weren't on…I was crushed T^T


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I cannot describe the thanks I wish to give to every single person reviewing! When I started this story, I never thought it would get near this many reviews, even at the end of it! So anyway, I would like to thank for that. Except I felt a little bad when I saw how sad you all were after the last chapter! D:

So I'm gonna give you a little gift of a sliver of happiness in this chapter. ;)

THIS IS RATED E FOR ESTHER AND EMILY. AND K FOR KATRINA. I love you guys ^^

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Xemnas paced back and forth in his study, eyes narrowed with intense thought as he looked long and hard at the ground. His mind was moving a million miles an hour, Xemnas barley had time to grasp one thought and mull it over before it was whisked away to be replaced by another one. The man was feeling his temper starting to flare the longer he tried and the longer he failed. He had sent Saix out to find more clues in making sure that they could revive Roxas, and yet something was missing, he was sure. A detail that was crucial if Xemnas were to ever complete Kingdom Hearts in time. But he couldn't quite reach as to what the detail was!

Ready to tear out his hair, Xemnas blinked, straightening and gaining his composure as there was a light knocking at the door. Sighing, he was about to start over to the door, when suddenly it slammed open, knocking it off its hinges and making the door slam to the ground right in front of the still-cool-looking Xemnas. Eyeing the fallen door for a few moment, Xemnas raised his head, blinking almost in a bored manner as Pete stomped into the room, the fat cat's belly bouncing in time with his stomps. "What's the big idea!" The cat stormed, stepping to the side with a bounce as Maleficent stepped silently into the room after him.

"I have no idea what you're blathering about…" Xemnas sighed under his breath, willing himself patience before he exploded all over the room and walls.

"How do you expect a cat to get any beauty sleep around here!" Pete demanded, skipping the precious part where he told Xemnas what he was talking about and hopping right over to the complaining part. Maleficent obviously thought the same, eyeing the fat cat where she stood oddly. But the witch said nothing, turning her cold gaze onto Xemnas and staring him down as Pete went on with his rant. "I was almost asleep when this racket started, and after walking around the castle for forever, I demand that you tell me what the heck is goin on here!"

Xemnas continued to stare emptily at Pete, still lost, but not about to show it. He sighed after Pete stared at him crossly for a few minutes, giving in as he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. Wherever he went, he was surrounded by idiots. "Please tell me what you're talking about before I-" He broke off, lowering his hand and narrowing his eyes slightly. He had heard the source of the idiot's anger as a faint scream reached his ears.

But before he could snap at the cay anymore, the witch spoke up, eyes narrowed and voice cross. "Xemnas." She growled angrily, voice tight. "You still have not held up your end of the deal. You've had your way with the key bearer, now its time for you to hand him over to me." Her voice grew dark as she spoke the last part, eyes gleaming with hunger that only a taste of revenge could satisfy. Immediately, Xemnas realized that was the detail he had been missing. Cursing himself mentally, Xemnas tried to look calm.

"If you'll notice," He growled, just as angrily. "Kingdom Hearts is not filled yet. Surely you must know this." The last part was said with mock patience. After all, in Xemnas's study, there was a giant window, stretching from floor to ceiling, and the large moon shone brightly behind him. He was standing right in front of the window, to be exact. Shaking his head slightly, he went on. "The deal was that you would have him after it was fully completed."

The witch snarled. "What is taking so long?" She demanded tersely.

"Good things come to those who wait." Xemnas said thinly, now glaring at her with eyes cold as ice. "Now, there is a problem that must be fixed now." Cold eyes flickering over to the fat…THING standing over his broken door, he seethed. "After all, wouldn't want the CAT to get uncomfortable." He said, obviously dismissing the both of them.

There was a beat of stillness, neither of the two moving as they looked suspiciously at Xemnas, eyes doubtful and filled with distrust. Something that was understandable, of course. And yet it did not fail to bother Xemnas a little. If Maleficent didn't think he would hold up his end of the deal, she would not keep supplying him with heartless. "Be assured, Maleficent, as soon as the boy fills Kingdom Hearts, I will have no other use for him." This time, his tone said that he wanted her to leave openly.

Hesitating a moment, Maleficent snarled under her breath, mouth twisting into an ugly scowl as she flared angrily. Whipping back around, the witch stopped at the doorway. Without turning, she said bracingly. "Make haste, Xemnas. I'm not a very patient person. I might slip before your precious Kingdom Hearts is even restored." It was clear that she cared no more for the power of Kingdom Hearts. Everything on her mind was just revenge. Cold and satisfying revenge.

Xemnas did not reply, watching with narrowed eyes as the witch beckoned to her sidekick almost lazily, her footsteps echoing in the hallway as she retraced her steps back up to where she stayed in the castle. Standing alone for a moment, Xemnas glared thoughtfully at the ground, thoughts roving like mad once more. But when yet another yell met his ears, the man sighed, pushing the thoughts backwards and straightening almost unconsciously.

Clasping his hands behind his back, the man started back to Sora's room, stepping over the splintered door and walking back down the hall briskly. His footsteps were quick, crisp and seeming to echo in the hallway as he went along. Sora's room wasn't very far from his study, and he was there in a matter of a few minutes. When he rounded the corner, Xemnas raised an eyebrow slowly as he realized that the whole of the Organization (what was LEFT of it) was either sitting down on the ground, or standing up all in front of the door. Xaldin was the most happiest-looking, eyes almost smug as he stood with his arms crossed. Coming to a stop, Xemnas glanced over at the door as yet another yell wormed its way through the cracks.

The yell was hoarse now, almost sounding painful. "Stop the tape! Stop it please!" It was almost unable to be heard by now. It must have taken him longer than he thought to get over here. Looking over at Xaldin, Xemnas blinked, piecing two and two together. Xaldin had shown the boy the tape already without orders. But instead of a flash of anger, he pushed it aside coolly. There was no reason to be angered, the boy would have been forced to listen eventually. Speeding up the process was something that Xemnas would not complain about.

Suddenly, another person caught his eye. Turning, Xemnas saw Axel, being the farthest from the door and the only one not facing the door at the same time. The man was leaning against the wall, back to Xemnas as he stared at the ground, eyes narrowed slightly. Pausing, Xemnas felt a flash of sudden distrust. He opened his mouth to say something, but broke off at a loud stomping noise coming from inside. Fighting his sigh, Xemnas was torn for a moment between the two.

Shaking himself, Xemnas turned, opening the door and stepping inside. At once, he heard the scream of that little maiden they had encountered what seemed like a short while ago. But it wasn't so much about that he was staring at. Sora was a sight to see, he had to admit that. And by the mummers that flared up behind him, he saw that the others thought so as well. Sora was at the far edge of the weapon-triangle, lashing out and swinging himself forward, feet searching desperately for the small black device in order to crush it and put an end to the noise. Xemnas did not know how long the boy had been struggling like that, but in the gleam of silver from the handcuffs, Xemnas saw a flash of red, blood starting to trickle down from the key bearer's wrists in his frantic struggle to get out of his trap.

How long had this been going on?

Locking his jaw, Xemnas paced forward quickly, seeing that Sora was getting dangerously close to actually reaching the thing. Lasing forward, Xemnas grabbed the collar of Sora's shirt tightly, making the cloth wrinkle as he held on tightly. Sora's eyes flew wide open, and before the boy could say anything, Xemnas shoved him back as hard as he could manage, the teen flying back and slamming back against the wall, head spinning and dots flying around his vision as the back of his head hit the wall full-force. Stunned, Sora blinked, trying to clear the fuzzy spots from his eyes, looking a little confused.

Turning around, Xemnas looked at the others watching with an angered glower. "Turn this thing off!" He yelled, jabbing his finger down at the recorder as he yelled over the noises still erupting from it. Xaldin started forward to do so, but Axel was on top of it already, shoving Xaldin aside with an angry look and going to do the task himself. Xaldin watched menacingly, and somehow, Xemnas knew that Axel had already told the man that they had to work together. No doubt that was where all this new hostility was coming from.

Watching as Axel tried to figure out how to turn it off, Xemnas jerked his head back over to Xaldin. "Take your lance back, Xaldin." He ordered crisply. The man looked caught off-guard a moment, eyes searching Xemnas's, as if trying to decide whether or not the man was angry with him. Shrugging it off as best he could, the man carried out the order, leaving behind the others to look on. "Don't you all have missions to carry out?" Xemnas addressed the rest of them, rather tartly.

As the others dispersed immediately, Xemnas sniffed, turning around and watching with careful eyes as Xaldin's lance disappeared in a flash of black shadow. Sora fell in a heap on the ground, head ducked as he hissed with pain. Without the device filling the room, it was silent, Axel holding the black thing in his hand as he watched from a distance. Xemnas narrowed his eyes suspiciously, trying to figure out what Axel was thinking. But the man's face was blank and apathetic.

Face thoughtful, Xemnas finally spoke. "Have you had enough?" He growled menacingly.

Sora pushed himself up so that he crouched on all fours, as if going up any higher would have made him sick. He managed to lift his head to look up at Xemnas, one eye closed in pain and the other one filled with pain and misery beyond whatever sadness he had seen the key bearer hold. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and subdued, scratchy and hoarse. "Did you really kill her?" He whispered, voice nearly breaking.

Xemnas narrowed his eyes slightly.

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Standing in the castle's room, Xemnas watched as the princess fell to the ground, legs crumpling underneath her as she did so. Her eyes were closed tightly, and she fell in a heap, a small thud. The Beast immediately started howling, yelling for the woman to get up and yelling profanities at the Organization members. Looking down at the small device in his hand, Xemnas turned, eyeing the clock that was perched on the small table beside the bed. More time had passed than Xemnas had thought.

Turning back to the scene in front of him, Xemnas glanced back at the device, lifting up his thumb from the RECORD button and cutting off the tape. Raising his head, he let them go on a moment longer, just for his own enjoyment. But then he sighed, deciding the longer he waited, the less of a chance they would have to actually find Sora before he found anybody else. Pity, though. Things were just starting to get good, after all.

"Alright, then." He said bracingly. "That's all you have to do. We have a little unfinished business to attend to. Let's go." He said, gathering up the others with a simple nod of the head. At once, the Beast launched himself forward, aiming for Xemnas's heart. With a small sigh, Xemnas's shining red blade appeared in his head in a millisecond, the man raising the sword and parrying the blow without the least amount of effort. As if flicking off a bug, Xemnas pushed the Beast aside with another blow, the monster slamming against the wall and sliding to the ground.

Glaring at the man, the Beast dug his claws into the ground, fur bristling and eyes wild. "You said you wouldn't kill Belle!" He snarled, fury, pain, and rage all evident in his voice as he yelled at the Organization leader. Perking up, Xemnas turned, looking at the fallen princess, eyes slightly surprised, as though that part of the agreement had slipped his mind. "Oh, yes." He said dismissively. Reaching into his cloak, the man withdrew a potion, flinging it over at the Beast carelessly.

The monster gasping, reaching over and just managing to save it from crashing onto the ground. Turning over rapidly, the so-called 'prince' whirled around, pouring the healing liquid onto his lover, watching anxiously as he let the bottle fall to the ground. At first, the woman did not move, the Beast's hair starting to bristle with shock. But then the princess's eyes flickered open slightly, a groan of pain coming from her as she ducked her head.

"Belle!" The Beast cried, reaching over and enfolding the woman in his arms.

Pulling a disgusted face, Xemnas turned, scowling. "This makes me sick." He growled, before throwing up a portal in front of the group, taking the lead as he paced into the shadow.

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Scowling, Xemnas flashed down once more, quick as lightening. Grabbing Sora's collar once more, he lifted the boy up into the air so that his wide, blue eyes locked with his yellow chips of flint. "Listen here." He growled, venom in his voice as he spat at the boy. His blue eyes were full of fear, Xemnas feeling the boy tremble at his voice. "We killed that woman and we made it so that she did not die a quick and easy death. And we will do the same to you if you EVER try to do anything else, and believe me, boy, your suffering will not be nearly as quick as that filthy woman's!"

To his amazement, the boy tried to object. "Y-You need me." He managed to get out.

Feeling anger boil in his blood at the regrettably-fair objection, Xemnas jerked the boy closer, almost nose-to-nose with the child. "Then we will find every single person that you hold dear and we will wipe them off the planet. If you so much as try to object in filling Kingdom Hearts for us, I will make sure that you will suffer along with your friends. You thought that was bad, you have another thing coming." Pausing, he added with a snarl. "You'll need to help jog my memory, boy." He said in a low growl. "What was that little girl's name again? …Kiari?"

Sora's eyes flew open, and Xemnas knew that he had struck home with it. "That's what I thought." He growled, pushing Sora away from him with a disgusted look, as if the boy was a piece of trash he wanted thrown away. Sora fell on his back, pushing himself up with a wince of pain. The handcuffs had not been taken off of his hands yet, and it was obvious they were far too tight on his wrists. But the boy didn't object, taking the warning to heart and staying silent.

Deciding to test it, Xemnas stepped aside, gesturing to the still-open door with a grim smile. "Why don't you try to run away again?" He invited, voice unusually light. "Tell you what, we'll even give you a head start. What do you want…30 minutes? I'll give you a whole hour, maybe even two!" Axel glanced out the door, looking as though he wanted to leave on his own as well. Sora didn't move, eyes fixed on the ground. Xemnas felt a wicked sense of laughter, and he went on. "Maybe we can even give you three hours! Go on ahead out, nobody will stop you!"

Sora's response was to draw his knees up, holding them tightly to his stomach as he continued to avoid eye contact. His shoulders shaking ever so slightly. Immedaitly, Xemnas's face soured once more. "You disgust me." He spat. When Sora refused to do anything still, Xemnas whipped around, stalking out of the room and not even caring to shut the door behind him. Axel and Xaldin looked a little lost at first, probably the only time they had ever related to each other. But then they shook themselves, walking out of the room as well, shutting the door and taking up their spots in front of the door. Neither of them spoke, not even glaring at each other. Axel's face was solemn as he looked away from Xaldin, eyes glimmering with sadness. Whereas Xaldin was trying to hold back a smile.

Xemnas turned a few corners, not sure where he was going. But he did not get very far before he accidentally crashed into somebody, nearly falling over in the process. Staggering, he regained his footing, already glaring as he raised his eyes to meet the person who slammed into him. Saix started, surprise shining in the man's eyes as he stopped dusting himself off. "I'm so sorry!" He said at once. "Forgive me, Superior."

"It's alright." Xemnas said, eyeing the man a little wearily. "How come you're back already? Have you found out something this fast?"

Saix nodded tensely, looking rather proud of himself. "There's going to be less difficulty than we thought in getting Roxas back." He informed the man, straightening and looking his leader in the eye as he spoke. "Roxas is closer than we thought he was in the first place."

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Yuffie leaned against the wall, eyes closed and head low as she listened in on the conversations floating around the room. It seemed that everybody was here, the whole gang. It seemed that it was always that way these days. Cracking open one eye, Yuffie glanced over to the other side of the room, watching Donald and Goofy worriedly. The two were doing just as she was, staying away from all the prying questions and conversations. Speeches of attack and secret plans floating around the room like little rain clouds. The air seemed to press in on her, and suddenly Yuffie had to get away from the others, fast.

Turning, she pushed herself off the wall, opening the door and shutting it silently behind her. Sighing, Yuffie started walking unconsciously, immediately veering to the left and walking towards the Bailey, where everything had happened. Coming to a stop, Yuffie looked around the small, stone clearing. It was empty, just like she had expected it to be. Tucking a lock of black hair behind her ear, Yuffie blew out a heavy sigh between her lips, blowing a small raspberry.

Staying here probably wasn't the best place to be right now, but anything to get away from Merlin's house. They had been making so many new plans, that now, all the plans sounded stupid. Not that they didn't before. The thought made Yuffie scowl. She was about to turn and go, when a small thing on the ground made Yuffie perk, turning around as she lowered down to crouch on her knees. "…Oh my God." She whispered under her breath, reaching forward shakily as she scooped up the small little thing. She was surprised she had even seen it in the first place.

"What're you doing?" Yuffie snapped up to her feet, whirling around, heart hammering. But she relaxed at once, Leon raising an eyebrow at her, a little concerned. "Why'd you leave?"

"I didn't think anybody would notice." Yuffie said quietly. Hesitating a moment, Yuffie held out her hand, opening her palm and showing her friend the small pendant she held. It was Sora's pendant he had gotten from his friend, what was her name? Kiari. "It was his charm." She said, voice a little distant. "IT must have fallen off his keyblade. He'll be lost without it."

Silence. Then, "You know, I never knew you cared this much about Sora."

Yuffie looked slightly offended. "Of course I care about him!" She exclaimed. "He's my friend!"

"But you're making it sound like you wont be able to live without him."

"So you don't care if Sora never comes back?" Yuffie asked hotly, eyes narrowed.

"I never said that. But I also know that if Sora came back once, he can come back again."

"Right, but as of now, you don't care what happens to him."

"Yuffie, don't put words in my mouth." Leon sighed.

"Well you sure aren't saying anything worthwhile. Sora could be-"

"STOP!" Leon yelled, cutting her off rudely. Yuffie's eyes widening with surprise, blinking rapidly as she took a small step back, mouth open. Leon couldn't get his anger under control, blurting out the first thing that had been lingering unsaid for a long time now. "Yuffie, you sound like you're in love with him!" He blustered.

Yuffie was stunned for a moment, mouth agape as she tried to figure out something to say.

"…You aren't…are you?" Leon asked, straightening as he stared at her, lost.

Yuffie's eyes hardened. "What kind of stupid question is that?" She spat, anger rising to color her cheek crimson.

Finally, he blurted it out, something that he knew he would regret in exactly .05 seconds. "Yuffie, can't you see how I feel about you!" He asked, eyes widening as soon as he stopped talking. Yuffie blinked, dropping the charm she was holding to the ground, eyes big as the moon. Maybe even a bit bigger than that. Silence. Only this silence was SO much more awkward than any other silence ever that existed on the face of this planet.

"…wait, Leon…" Yuffie winced as Leon turned, walking away at once, leaving her alone.

Ducking her head, the girl's cheeks flamed pink. With both anger and embarrassment. "You never asked me how I feel about you." She whispered to the ground.

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A/N: EMBRACE DA FLUFFEH! LURVE DA FLUFFYINESS OF THE LAST FEW PARAGRAPHS!

I apologize if I made Xemnas OOC, I was literally, shaking my head through the whole fist two pages! XDD

But…yup. I have to pack for a friend's house and then leave for Marching Band. (So fun)

Oh. Yeah, I got my braces. And then when I went to marching band the same day, I had to play LOUD the whole four hours because the other stupid trumpets wouldn't play, so I had to play like I was a million trumpets XDD It sucked ;^;

If you leave a review, I will LOVE YOU FOREVER! :I


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I have to stop listening to sad songs. I listened to one, and now I have an explosion of ideas. So…I can't just NOT take my ideas XDDD And my friends need to stop telling me ways to end the story, because I'm sure that nobody here would like that way to go, Miss Emily. If you are indeed reading this note, I shall not listen to you. ;3

Anyhow, I loved every single review! And I wanted to give a special shout-out, to…hang on, let me find your name lol…TokiNoKusabi! I think I spelled that right…ANYWAY. Your guess was absolutely right, I didn't have time to reply to your review, but yes, you guessed absolutely correct! :D And yes, it WILL come into play…THIS chapter! Sorry, I'm tired X3

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Xemnas waited until a few days passed until he actually tried to test the theory that Saix had brought up to him. For now, he spent all his time observing Sora's actions, making sure that he had wiped away the last traces of the remaining attitude he tried to scrape up. He watched every day as one of the Organization members led the boy into the White Room, waiting outside the door and listening as Sora fought against the large number of heartless that were held inside for him to defeat. There was no gleam of objection when Sora was led inside the room, and no sparkle of victory as the boy was led back to his prison. Xemnas had succeeded.

And yet, the man still felt unsatisfied.

Now, as he walked back to Sora's room with Saix close behind, the man's eyes were narrowed into cautious slits. "Even if this does work, it doesn't mean we're any closer to bringing Roxas back to us." The Superior pointed out, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he walked. He glanced over at Saix questioningly, obviously wishing for an objection to his statement.

Catching the look, Saix looked straight ahead fixedly. "Roxas was always the stubborn half of Sore." He said thoughtfully, forehead creased slightly. "After I've seen what goes on with Sora, I'm sure that Roxas is just under the surface of the boy, now. Considering Roxas's attitude, it wouldn't take anything at all for Roxas to regain control."

Though he would not show it at all, Xemnas was uncertain. Saying it like that made it sound so easy. Mind flashing back to the sight of Sora shuffling back and through the same hallway over and over again, eyes dead and shoulders sagging. "It's not like his heart is strong anymore." Xemnas commented, voice dark as he went on. "You would have thought the fabled keyblade bearer would have held out longer than this." Saix murmured a small agreement.

As they approached Sora's room, Xemnas's eyebrow raised slightly. Axel leaned against the wall, a bored expression on his face as he made a small flame jump from one finger to another idly. Xaldin was sitting on the ground, obviously bored and with sore feet. His eyes were irritated, and his back to Axel. Obviously Xemnas and Saix had missed one heck of a fight. Pity. Clearing his throat loudly, Xemnas watched with a blank face as the Axel's flame went out with a hiss, green eyes flooding with interest at once. Xaldin leapt to his feet, scratching the back of his neck as he stood up straight, as if hoping it would have looked like he had been doing something instead of sitting on the ground, pouting.

"Xaldin, you're dismissed." Xemnas ordered thinly, shooting the man a glance.

Blinking with surprise, Xaldin looked from Axel to Xemnas, almost confused. But then it seemed to click that he had the rest of the afternoon off to himself. Eyes lighting up, he nodded, turning around and walking away briskly, before Xemnas had the chance to change his mind and call him back. The Superior was surprised that he had not realized how much Axel and Xaldin hated each other before now. He supposed being together for a long time made the irritation much bigger.

Axel turned his confused gaze onto Xemnas, staring at the man expectantly. With a glance from Saix, Xemnas spoke up in his directions, voice smooth. "I have a job for you to do, Axel." He said firmly.

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Sitting in a corner for three hours isn't as fun as it sounds. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Sora sighed through his nose, leaning back with a faint thump against the wall. Blinking, he looked back down at his keyblade, boredom getting the best of him as he mumbled a small word, already wincing away from what he knew would be the outcome. But when it remained silent, Sora cracked open one eye slowly, teeth grinding together anxiously. But then his eyes flew open, more out of surprise than anything.

A small flicker of flame came out of the tip of his keyblade. It wasn't an inferno, or a wildfire, it was a small flicker that looked fit to be on a candle. It was…the way it was supposed to be. A slow smile spread over his face, a little more of his old gleam slinking back into his blue eyes. Did this mean his random magic-mishaps were over with? It was enough to cram a little more hope into his tired body, making him straighten a little bit, looking at the flame like it was a lot more than it really was. Which was the case, technically.

But the flame went out as Sora's attention was snapped away from it. The door opened with a small creak, only audible because of the silence Sora was now accustomed to hearing. Perking at once, Sora's blue eyes were alight with confusion and suspicion as Axel stepped into the room, cloak billowing out neatly behind him as he made his way into the room. The door remained open behind him, and Sora glanced to the side, confused eyes turning into anger as he spotted Xemnas standing in the open doorway. The man did not show any signs of coming inside, and yet he showed no signs of moving.

His yellow eyes shone with a kind of hunger that made Sora scowl, and the boy felt a small sickening tug in his stomach as he saw a small gleam in the air right in front of Xemnas. He had seen the small, rainbow-like gleam before, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was a Barrier. Whirling back around to look at Axel fully, Sora leapt to his feet, head spinning from the sudden movement. Stumbling for a heartbeat, Sora regained his footing quick as a flash, scowling as he ensured his grip on the keyblade. Crouching down slightly, Sora's blue eyes bored into Axel's green ones. "What's going on?" He asked, voice raspy as if he hadn't talked in days.

Axel did not reply, not even moving as he looked at Sora, a little bleakly, as if he wasn't sure what to do. After a while of him staring at Sora, the boy started to straighten, letting his guard down little by little. But as soon as he stood all the way back up, Axel spun around quick as a flash, hands flying forward as fireballs shot straight for Sora. The boy managed to let out a small scream before he ducked wildly, rolling on the ground and away from the blow. Skidding to a stop, Sora got back up to his feet, eyes wide and wild. "WHAT!" He asked, more confused than angry.

Spinning around to face Sora, Axel's green eyes were narrowed to angered slits. He rolled his two Chakrams rapidly in his hands, Sora's wide eyes following the weapons' spins. The boy was shaking as he stood, feeling a strange, lightweight feeling tingling through his body, which made him panic. He'd be no match against Axel! He wasn't even sure he'd be able to defeat Axel if he was at full-force! What was Xemnas doing? Was he trying to KILL him? The thought nearly made him fall, but he kept his head high. Narrowing his eyes, he matched Axel's glower bravely. "…Fine." He growled, tightening his hold on his keyblade stubbornly. "I dare you to come any closer."

Hesitating for half of a second, Axel shook himself, hardening his eyes and dashing forward. Like a Frisbee, he threw his arm out to the side, releasing his hold on the weapon as he snapped his wrist forward. One of the Chakrams shot forward like a missile, careening for Sora and slicing open his cheek as it just missed his head. Gasping in pain and shock, Sora's hand flew up to his face, pressing his hand on the open wound with a hiss. Whirling around just in time to see Axel going to retrieve his fallen weapon, Sora let out a yell of outrage, kicking himself in motion and racing forward.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Sora asked in a yell, bringing up his keyblade and swinging it down as hard as he could. Making contact with Axel's back, Sora smiled triumphantly as the man buckled, the teen obviously hitting a rather painful spot. Shooting down to the ground, Sora landed right on top of Axel, throwing all his weight forward and doing his best to pin down his attacker. Axel twisting around so that he was on his back, glaring up at Sora hotly. He reached back to throw his weapon once more, but this time it was Sora that was faster.

Jerking, Sora planted his keyblade across Axel's neck, putting just enough pressure as to not choke him. "Don't move!" He snarled angrily. "Or else I'll do it!" Axel's green eyes were angered, flames of anger as they molded with Sora's own. But the man obviously thought it was a bluff. Twisting, Axel gripped his weapon, bending his arm and starting to throw it forward. Gasping, Sora leaned on his hands, eyes wide with panic as Axel's spiked-weapon came closer and closer to his head.

But it worked. As soon as Sora started to cut off Axel's air, the man let his weapon drop, hands going forward to try and peel Sora off of him. Rooting himself fixedly where he was, Sora put as much pressure as he could on the keyblade, watching with narrowed eyes as Axel's face started to get red. The Organization member kept trying to get free, his attempts growing weaker and weaker. Looking over at the doorway, Sora's anger only intensified as Xemnas still looked inside calmly. He didn't look bothered at all. A red haze filled Sora's mind, the teen's face twisting into an angered, twisting mask.

His anger was getting so big, it was threatening to burn him. It was…burning his hands…it was burning his hands! Sora was snapped out of it at once, his keyblade turning white-hot in less than a moment's time. Trembling, Sora tried to keep his hands around it tightly, trying to forget the pain. But then his eyes landed on Axel's own, and Sora's jaw dropped. A voice screamed inside his head, whether it was his conscience or something else was something he didn't even try and figure it out. "YOU IDIOT!" It screamed. "YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"

The pain becoming too intense to bear, Sora dropped his keyblade, falling off of his enemy and landing with a thud on his side. His hands throbbed violently, stinging and pulling painfully. Bringing them close to his chest, Sora let out a scream without opening his mouth, trying to muffle it as best he could. Blue eyes pricking with tears of pain, Sora trembled, stomping his foot down on the ground repeatedly in hopes of transporting the pain to the floor.

Raising his head ever so slightly, Sora watched through blurred eyes as Axel slowly got up, looking drained suddenly. Gaze switching back to his keyblade, Sora felt a wave of frustration, making his tears spill over. He just controlled the stupid magic, NOW what was wrong? His felt panic once more as Axel started for him, looking much more angered than he was before, that much was true. Getting to his feet in a rush, Sora called back his keyblade as Axel raised his weapon for another blow.

Key flashing back just in time, Sora raised it to defend himself, the clack of metal against metal seeming to echo in the room. Wincing, Sora felt a wave of heat slam into his hands once more. But he had to hold onto it, no matter how much it hurt. Axel was raining down blows on Sora, the boy's keyblade his only protection. Holding onto the burning piece of metal for dear life, Sora hung his head, feeling his hands turning slightly numb, which made it hurt all the more worse.

Screwing up his eyes, Sora blew out a quick deep breath before he chose his time carefully. Hopping back, the boy struck his keyblade forward, swinging it so hard that the man skidded feet away from him. He dropped his keyblade now, nearly blinded by the tears threatening to spill over once more. But glancing over at Xemnas, Sora drew up a wall, stubbornly refusing to let them slip over in front of him. Sucking in another deep breath, Sora stood on shaky legs, feeling the room spinning underneath him. Axel was making a comeback still, and Sora knew that he had to end this, soon. He couldn't keep this up much longer.

If he even knew what he was doing in the first place.

Managing to pick up his keyblade, Sora blew out another gust of air from his lungs, closing his eyes tightly. "It's not hot." He told himself over and over mentally. "It doesn't hurt. I'm fine. Just don't think about it." Willing his concept to work, he steeled himself, rushing forward as Axel started running as well. The two charged for one another, one filled with frustration, confusion, and pain. The other filled with something close to sadness, a look in his eyes that told a story of blunt unwillingness. But nevertheless, the two kept on fighting.

Narrowing his eyes, Sora veered off at the last second, nearly spinning as he whirled around Axel rapidly. The man skidded, caught off-guard as he tried to catch up with Sora's sudden change of movement. Gripping the keyblade as tightly as he could now, Sora rammed the weapon forward, the weapon sinking inside Axel's side at once. The man jerked with surprise, making the pain worse as Sora stabbed him. Panting by now, Sora ripped his keyblade back to him, falling over in the process as he tumbled down to the ground with a thud.

A ragged gash was now showing in Axel's side, the man staggering for a heartbeat before he too fell to the ground. It was obvious it was a terrible wound, Axel wouldn't last long. Only now did Xemnas show his worry, glancing from Sora to Axel rapidly. Xemnas knew it wouldn't be smart to go in there with Sora like this, he could very well get injured terribly like that as well. But he couldn't stay here while a member of the Organization died, that would be one less person to make up the group! It wasn't like they had people to spare anymore, thanks to Sora. But then again, Axel was important as well to their plan.

Sora pushed himself up, blinking to clear his fuzzy head. Blue eyes coming into focus, Sora stared at Axel with wide eyes. Did he do that? He was about to get up and go over to Axel, still slightly stunned that he had done that. But then Axel shifted, turning around to look at Sora almost a little desperately. The man's green eyes locked with Sora's own, and the boy straightened, the heat in his keyblade slipping his mind in the moment.

It took Axel a moment, but the man grunted out one word. "…Roxas…" He said, pain thick in every syllable.

That was all it took.

Like lightening from his Thunder spell, a shock so great and so painful shot up through every inch of Sora, making him jerk backwards, landing on his back and slamming his head down on the ground. Back arching, Sora trembled violently, the boy letting out a bloodcurdling scream as lightening engulfed him. Twisting and scrabbling on the ground, Sora tried to stop the insistent pain ringing through him, but all he could do was jerk around like he was having a seizure, unable to breathe like he was in the middle of one.

Xemnas took his chance, throwing down the barrier and rushing inside. Keeping his distance from Sora, the leader knelt down by Axel, potion already in hand. He looked down blankly at Axel, the man's eyes starting to close already. Parting Axel's blood-stained cloak, Xemnas poured the healing juice across the gaping wound in his side. Leaning back, Xemnas put the potion down carefully, with a small tap. While he waited, Xemnas looked over at Sora, looking puzzled as if it were a child doing something stupid like smearing ice cream all over their face and liking it.

Axel gasped suddenly, Xemnas turning to look down at the man as his green eyes flew wide to the situation. He bolted upright at once, not even fazed by his near-death. Xemnas grumbled something about running out of potions, but Axel wasn't paying attention. Twisting around, Axel looked taken aback by Sora's state, the boy's screams becoming hoarse and raspy by now. "What's happening!" Axel asked, having to yell to even be remotely heard.

Xemnas narrowed his eyes, getting to his feet and striding over to Sora neatly, not fazed like Axel was. Jerking, Axel scrambled to his feet, trailing behind loosely, as if he thought that Sora would explode at any moment. Looking down at Sora calmly, Xemnas thought he saw a desperate plead for help shining in Sora's eyes as the man came into view. But instead of trying to help Sora, Xemnas started to call out as a substitute. "Roxas!" He yelled at the twitched key bearer. "Roxas, come back to us! We need you here!"

By now, Sora's spasms were growing weaker, thrashes and jerks barely even moving him anymore. Axel's green eyes were wide as he looked down in horror at the boy's body. "Help him!" He yelled, loosing his composure as he yelled frantically at Xemnas. In other times, both yelling and ordering the Superior around was never a good idea, but he couldn't hold it back anymore. "He's going to die! Y-You have to help him, before-"

"Calm down, Axel." Xemnas said icily, eyeing the man as he spoke. Almost like a warning to be silent. Looking back down at Sora, Xemnas watched as the boy finally went still, head falling to the side like a small doll's when going untouched. For a moment, the only thing that could be heard was Axel's labored breathing. But then Xemnas spotted the faint rise and fall of Sora's chest, and he knew the boy was only unconscious.

"He'll be fine." He said dismissively. "I've found out all I need."

"So…that was just an experiment!" Axel yelled, not sure if he was more angry about Sora's near-death, or his own.

"What other use is he to us?" Xemnas asked.

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but it failed him. Sighing lightly, Axel turned back down to Sora, feeling a tug in his heart at the sight of him. Sora still jerked occasionally, as if the shock was still going through him even in his unconscious state. He was limp and suddenly, Axel realized how small he looked. His thoughts were broken as Xemnas spoke, the man turning to exit, already shutting the door behind him. "It's simple, Axel, why can't you understand?" He paused, glancing back mockingly at Axel before he slammed the door. "He's losing his heart."

The slam of the door echoed, Axel going unmoving for a long time. Then, he slowly turned back around to face Sora, stomach suddenly sick. Looking at the boy now, he could hardly believe it was the same child they had faced at the Heartless raid, which seemed like such a long time ago. That boy was strong, confident, cocky, and yes…VERY ANNYOING. This thing lying on the ground in front of him was none of the above. And that didn't fit with the keybearer.

Feeling his feet moving before he knew it, Axel sank to his knees in front of the boy. Staring at the child's face, Axel felt his shoulders droop. Even asleep, Sora's forehead was creased, as if he was still in pain. Leaning forward, Axel glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the door was closed and nobody was looking in. When the coast was clear, Axel scooped his hands underneath Sora's body, bringing the boy's limp body closer to him.

Staring at Sora's face, Axel was grateful that his eyes were closed. He wouldn't be able to bear to see those blue orbs shining with so much pain…the thought made him wince. "I'm sorry." He whispered softly, voice cracking slightly. Pausing for a moment, Axel scooped the boy forward, bringing him up close and wrapping his arms around Sora's chest tightly. "I'm sorry for what we've done to you." He murmured, closing his eyes.

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There was a rapid noise outside, the man looking up from his work irritably. It was in the early morning, who could possibly want him at this time of night? If work on his reports had not kept him up this early, he would have been fast asleep by now. As the knocking only got faster and faster, the man huffed angrily, pushing his chair away from his table and getting up rather slowly. Making for the door, the man let out a yell. "I'm coming!" He shouted, frustrated. "I heard you the first time!"

Reaching over, the man swung open the door swiftly. "What is it?" He asked. But as he realized who stood in front of him, his face showed nothing but surprise. All the hostility faded from his voice, to be replaced by sheer shock. "…What are YOU doing here?" The man asked.

"Sora is in danger. Great danger." The person standing outside said rapidly, voice urgent. "I'm through waiting, I need to do something. But I need your help."

Staring at the familiar face, the man searched his eyes, hesitating as he studied his old friend. "…Very well." He said finally, stepping to the side. "Come in. It's chilly out there."

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A/N: HOLY COW…ITS LIKE THREE IN THE MORNING! WHY DID I STAY UP THIS LATE! *face palm* now I'm tired…. ;^;

Ohyeah, that's why. My sister is coming home tomorrow. So all these quick updates will surely slow down…A LOT XDD

I had trouble writing this. For a long time I just stared at it, and then I ended up watching My Little Pony. So…yeah, I guess if I had worked harder, I would be asleep right now. But no, I'm awake in the wee hours O morning! *gets my Irish on* I get hyper when I don't sleep, so blame all…THIS *waves all around* for the lack of sleep.

Who is DA PEOPLE AT THE END! I DUNNO! :D

If you want a little more detail about the whole Sad Song Idea Burst thing, search up a song called Kiss it All Better by He is We. It started after it said The Coward he ran. But it's a good song, so you might as well listen to the whole thing. Yeah, that song might have something to do with the end, so you can all just guess what that means! MUAHAHAHA! Probably spelled that wrong…

I HAVE TO GO TO BED OR I WILL EXPLODE WITH SORA!

GOODNIGHT! REVIEW AND MAKE MY HARD WORD WORTHWILE LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! ^^


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: How many of you have a deviant art here?

Well, I'm glad you've chosen to like the story, Dark Door! :D I try, yes I do. XD

How many of you all went to listen to that song I told you about?

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The place was dark, and damp. It was also hot and stuffy, the musty air almost resembling something you would be in if you were smothered under a lot of pillows, making it almost hard to breathe. Sora's blue eyes opened cautiously, coming into focus slowly and surely. For a moment, his hands shook and rattled in front of him, Sora watching numbly as they changed from five hands, to four, then three, until finally, there were two like it has always been. Waiting for his head to clear as well, it was only then when Sora realized that he was somewhere unfamiliar.

Blinking, he pushed himself up, body screeching in protest as he did so. Looking around, Sora saw…nothing. It was just like the tunnels he had found in moving in between worlds without a gummi ship, and yet, there was no light either way he looked. The thought made him straighten, fear of the dark pushing on his shoulders like somebody had come by and placed heavy dumbbells on each side of him. Pushing down the twinge of fear that flashed through him, Sora looked on both sides of him. It was like he was in a pit that stretched forever.

Pulling himself together, Sora started to walk forward slowly, wincing at the pain in his leg. Limping heavily, Sora started to the right, not sure which way he was supposed to go and picking randomly. Eyes narrowed against the darkness that surrounded him, Sora stumbled along, feeling blindly in front of him as he sought for at least some kind of guidance to follow. He couldn't see in front of his nose here, not to mention the fact that he didn't even know if he was staying at a constant direction. He could be drifting all over the place, and he wouldn't even know it.

Gasping for breath through the musty air, Sora forged on for who-knows-how long, the darkness making it impossible to tell what time it was. Or where he was, for that matter. Did the Organization put him here, or…he shook his head. There was no other way to go. This obviously had something to do with the Organization. What else could it be? What was the last thing he remembered? The thought made him stop looking at what he supposed was the ground thoughtfully.

The scene came back in rush of both pain and terror. That's right, he realized. He had no idea what had happened. One moment, he was winning by a landslide, standing over Axel and aiming his keyblade at the man with a triumphant expression. Then, in a flash, everything had changed. What had made him fall? What had caused the electric shock of pain and agony to shoot up his spine? It was like he had cast his own thunder spell on him, only much worse. But he had never even tried magic during the fight, that would have been suicide, considering the way it hasn't worked at all the past…long time. How long has it been, anyway?

Closing his eyes, Sora took in a slow breath, hanging his head as his mind was filled with questions. But the most pressing and the most important was the one he had to focus on, how did he get out of here? If he was anywhere, really. It looked to him like an end of a cave, the part completely covered in darkness, and the farthest from light. Except this wasn't a cave obviously, it was more like a never-ending closet, considering how hot and musty it was here.

His thoughts were sliced in half as a small voice started, somewhere in the darkness. It was more of a whisper, and yet it was enough to make Sora jerk to the present, blue eyes blinking rapidly. Straining to see through the darkness, Sora called out bravely. "…Hello?" He asked hesitantly, wincing as he did so. "Is anybody here?" Do you know the way out? The last part wasn't spoken, Sora clamping his mouth shut to listen for a response. It couldn't really qualify, but yet a small little mummer reached his ears, a small mumble that was almost incoherent. But when it reached Sora's ears, the boy could tell it was coming from directly ahead. Sora started forward, but it was proven useless in the pitch dark like this. Cursing under his breath, Sora came to a halt, puffing still as he looked down, his expression a cross between thoughtful and desperate.

As if in reply, his keyblade flashed out to meet him, a momentarily bright light that flashed through the dark like butter. Sora was unable to see what was around him with the small flash, the sudden burst of white making Sora's eyes close tightly, having grown used to the dark. When he clutched the keyblade, Sora drew it up in front of him, remembering how the Fire spell had worked perfectly last time he had attempted it. Bracing himself just in case, Sora muttered a small spell under his breath that triggered the Fire spell.

To his relief, his keyblade obeyed easily, a flame a little bit bigger than a candle's to shed light over the pressing dark around him. Narrowing his eyes to see better, Sora made a frustrated snort as he saw nothing in front of him. It was just a dark passageway, nothing in it. Then where had he heard the voice from? There was nobody here, at least where he could see. "Are you still there?" He called out, voice seeming to echo back to him.

He swore he could hear footsteps in front of him. Starting, he quickened his pace, limping severely as he broke into a clumsy run. Making sure the light from his keyblade didn't go out, Sora ran forward, hearing the footsteps starting to slow, as if whoever it was had finally noticed him trying to find them. As he got nearer and nearer, Sora's relief changed into shock and horror as he saw the familiar black cloak, seeming to blend in with the pitch black that surrounded the strange place. Coming to a fumbling stop, Sora panted where he stood, staring at the back of the Organization member with both anger and mild surprise. "…I should have known." He finally gasped. His blue eyes went to slits angrily. "Where are we and why did you bring me here?" When the person refused to even turn around, Sora raised his voice. "I mean it! Tell me where I am!"

Voice bouncing back to him, Sora glared at the back of the stranger hotly, not sure which member it was standing in front of him. Come to think of it…the person was a lot shorter than the Organization people that Sora had been dealing with. But maybe it was just a trick of the dim light. Nevertheless, Sora made it clear without speaking a word that he was not about to move without an answer to his question. The person in front of him let out a cross between a laugh and a sigh, turning around and fixing Sora with a blank look.

The person was no Organization member that Sora had seen before. And yet the cloak was obviously one of the Organization's, there was no mistaking that. Something about this person was oddly familiar as well, but Sora couldn't put his finger on what it was. Blue eyes locking with blue, the two stared intently at one another for what seemed like years, and then the stranger spoke, a ghost of a smile crossing over his face. "Lost your way in the dark, huh?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked Sora up and down almost critically. "Looks like you aren't as used to it as I am."

How do I get out of here? The sentence was what Sora had intended to come out of his mouth. But instead, he blurted out what was obviously less than his second priority. "What's your name?" He fumbled, loosening his grip on his keyblade and lowering it somewhat. The pale yellow light was flickering across their faces, making twin shadows dance around them oddly. Twin shadows…that reminded Sora that the boy looked like somebody. Somebody he had seen before. But he couldn't think of anybody who had spiky blonde hair and such piercing blue eyes.

He seemed faintly surprised by this question. Then he let out another dry laugh. Another laugh that was void of humor. "Am I even qualified to have a name anymore?" He asked, eyeing Sora almost angrily. The boy blinked in reply, obviously too confused to answer his question. After all, how should he know? He'd never seen this person before. At least, he wasn't sure if he had or not. After the beats of silence, the boy shook his head slowly. "It's Roxas." He said ungraciously.

Sora jerked, eyes going wide. He had heard that name before! He'd heard it more than once, actually. That was the name Axel always called him, it was what had triggered the lightening-like pain to course through him. Or at least that's what Sora thought had happened. Finally, Sora had come face-to-face with this odd person that kept coming up in his life, and Sora still had no clue why. "Y-You…" He stammered, looking at the boy like he was an alien thing to him. When Roxas raised his eyes slightly as if to say: What is this idiot doing?, Sora's hands balled into fists at his sides. Anger made him braver, and he snapped. "Why is everybody talking about you? What's so special about you?"

Roxas blinked, smiling once more. But this time, the smile was filled with humor. A slightly darker sense of humor than Sora was used to, but the boy's voice was almost teasing as he said, "Special?" He asked in disbelief. "Me? No, I guess you could say that I was a… 'nobody.'" The joke seemed to make sense to him. But Sora merely stared back at him, getting irritated for some reason. It seemed like whatever this guy said, it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Look." He sighed, bringing the keyblade back up and coming a little closer to Roxas. The boy eyed Sora as he came closer, but did not move away farther. "Can you just tell me how to get out of here?" He gestured around himself to the darkness that surrounded them. Blue eyes following his hand, Roxas looked back at Sora expectantly. "I'm just trying to leave here and get back to wherever I came from." He paused for a moment, eyeing the cloak Roxas was wearing slightly anxiously.

"Oh, there's no way out of here." Roxas snorted. Sora's eyes stretched wide, searching Roxas's face as if he expected the boy to start laughing and to call off his joke. But the blonde was completely serious. "At least, I don't know how YOU wound up here. That doesn't make much sense." As he spoke, a small light started to gleam in the back of his eyes, as if a thought was making him rethink what he had just said.

"There has to be a way out!" Sora burst out. "I can't just wander in the dark forever!"

"Humph." Roxas's eyes narrowed to glare fiercely at Sora. "That must be an awful feeling."

When Sora didn't say anything, more out of being stunned than anything else, Roxas's glare only soured. "Why are you here, anyway? It doesn't make sense. Who's out there?" He jabbed his finger behind his back, a direction that was supposed to mean something. Sora blinked rapidly, leaning over and peering into the darkness where Roxas had pointed, but there was nothing there.

"Out where?" Sora asked, eyebrows raised. "What are you talking about?"

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but then snapped his mouth closed. Shaking his head from side to side slowly, Roxas closed his eyes. "How can you be the main one?" He grumbled under his breath, Sora not at all sure he was supposed to hear it. Blue eyes flashing back open, Roxas stared at Sora for a measured moment. "If you keep messing up like this, you're going to end up in more trouble than you're worth." The words were laced with spite.

Sora was starting to realize that this guy didn't like him much. He narrowed his eyes angrily.

Roxas started, as if he realized something. "Oh yeah!" He said, tone accusing. His blue eyes bored into Sora's own, and the keybearer was surprised to see that something close to fury lingered in the blue orbs. Taking a large step forward, Roxas came nose-to-nose with Sora, raising his hand and poking Sora's chest so hard, Sora thought he would topple over. "I saw what you did to Axel." Roxas growled. "Lay off of him. You have no idea what he's like."

"How about you stay away from me!" Sora threw back in his face. Scowling, Sora shoved Roxas's finger away from him. "How could you have seen that! It happened like…" Sora trailed off, blue eyes flicking all around as he tried to figure out how long he had been here. Roxas cocked an eyebrow at him in disbelief. Feeling his face grow warm, Sora threw his hands into the air wildly. "I don't care how long it was! I knew you were in the Organization!"

"I'm NOT with that group." Roxas said, ducking his head. "…At least not anymore."

Sora glared at Roxas sourly. "I don't believe you." He snapped. "Get out of my face."

Shrugging past Roxas, Sora limped away quicker than before, a small wince on his face. Roxas called out, voice echoing around the dark place and ringing in Sora's eardrums, but Sora ignored it rudely. Footsteps started to rush up behind him, and Sora growled. "Get away from me!" Sora yelled over his shoulder. "You're annoying!"

Rushing past Sora, Roxas spun around, blue eyes cold. "You don't deserve to be the First." He snapped.

Sora fumbled to a stop, blinking rapidly with confusion.

Roxas glanced behind his shoulder, forehead wrinkled. "Maybe I can change it." He mumbled. For some reason, Sora was alarmed by the sentence. What did he mean? "If I can find the way out before you, I'll be able to be the First." Looking back at Sora, he looked the boy up and down. "Instead of YOU."

"Now, hang on." Sora said, reaching out and trying to grab hold of Roxas's shoulder. But the boy shook his head roughly, spinning around and charging back into the darkness, obviously in search for the exit. Gasping sharply, Sora once again felt vulnerable and alone in the void of black. "Hold on!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, panicking. "Y-You can't just leave me here!"

But no reply came from Roxas. Narrowing his eyes, Sora broke into a sprint, something that caused a burst of pain to lance up his spine and leg. But he pushed the pain away stubbornly, not about to let whoever this 'Roxas' was to do whatever he planned. It didn't sound good, it sounded strange. And with the Organization cloak, it was obvious that Sora was not to keen to let Roxas leave any time soon. He still didn't know who he was, what he reminded him of. "WAIT!" He yelled once more, voice cracking slightly. "I WANNA TALK TO YOU! I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING!"

But as he talked, he hadn't concentrated on his feet. Tripping over himself, Sora let out a sharp yell, the ground rushing up to meet him with a dull smack. Wincing, Sora groaned as he landed awkwardly on his leg, causing it to hurt even more. "Ouch…" He mumbled, voice tight with pain as his eyes started to blur. "That hurt." He managed. Placing his hands down under his chest, Sora got on all fours, staring at the ground intently as he waited for his head to stop spinning. But when he tried to get up to his feet, Sora realized with a stab of alarm that he couldn't.

It was like his hands were glued to the floor, like his whole body was frozen, locked in place. Jerking around, Sora could only move a little ways, jerking his body around oddly. His hands wouldn't pry themselves from the ground. Breath coming in rapid gasps, Sora looked over at his keyblade, which was lying discarded on the ground. The fire was facing him, lighting up the ground and him with its eerie orange light. Looking back down, Sora saw that his hands were visible enough, a little sliver of comfort in this dark place. Now at least he could see the problem and try to fix it.

"Alright, let's see." He said shakily, trying to smash his fright by organizing his thoughts neatly. "Maybe if I can just-" He broke off, feeling an odd cooling sensation come over his hands. Blue eyes widening, Sora bent his elbows with difficulty, looking down closely. What he saw made him snap back, eyes wide and body shivering at once. The darkness of the ground was seeping up to wrap around Sora's hands, engulfing his limbs in a freezing cold embrace.

"H-H-H-" He couldn't make out any noise, watching with panic and terror as the shadows started to creep up from his hands to his arms slowly. "HELP!" He screamed, calling back for Roxas anxiously. "HELP ME, ROXAS! PLEASE! COME BACK! TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" He tried yanking his hands back up, but the shadows were keeping them firmly rooted to the ground. "ROXAS!" He screamed, fright and terror taking up all of the words in his sentence. "COME BACK!" The shadows slowly made their way to his shoulders, changing direction and making their way down his back and up his neck. He let out a small squeak, trying to shake off the shadows like water.

Pretty soon, all his attempts were ending up in disaster. Blue eyes wide and shoulders shaking, Sora watching with disbelief and panic as the thick black mass coated him slowly from head to toe. Breath coming in gasps, Sora felt the coolness travel up his neck, his chin starting to feel freezing as well as the rest of him. Shivering from cold and shock, Sora struggling to remember how to breath, the shadow coming up to coat over his mouth.

He couldn't breathe anymore. He couldn't suck in air! Lungs burning, Sora closed his eyes tightly, the shadow engulfing his head and covering his eyesight completely. He felt himself starting to fall, fall back into the ground to be just another one of the shadows that were thick against the hard floor. Opening his mouth, Sora used up the last of his air to throw his head back and scream.

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A/N: Oh my GOD. My sister has her friends over and they want to play Amnesia. I SWEAR, I did NOT want to leave it here. But my sister is screaming at me, and I haven't updated in a while. So I'll try to get out another update, probably tomorrow, considering my parents are having friends over and I wont. I was going to, but she couldn't come. Yay Fourth of July .-.

So sorry, once again. For leaving it off here. I just felt guilty for leaving for a while.

You have no idea how irritating it was to get my sister to leave me alone long enough to create this ending. NO idea. So if this chapter DOES seem a little off or anything like that, it was because half the time I was telling my sister off while typing to try and speed up the process….yup.

ANYWAY! Please review! I can't wait to hear from you all! We're so close to 200 reviews! I'm SO happy! ^^ We're not even to chapter 20 yet!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I STARTED this on July Fourth, I don't know if I'll finish it. If I do, that's certainly a plus.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews yet again! I probably say that every chapter X3

But it's true, I luff them :3

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Consumed in the freezing dampness of the shadows, Sora choked for air, somehow unable to draw in the air that would have refreshed his burning lungs. Crouching on the ground, Sora felt himself almost melting down into the ground, to belong to one of the many shadows crowding the ground. Prying open his eyes painfully, Sora almost flinched. It was like opening your eyes underwater. Keeping his eyes open despite the stinging pain it inflicted on his eyes, Sora looked through the darkness of the place around him, jaw locking back. He'd get out of here, and he's sure as heck beat that other guy, even if it killed him.

Pushing himself to his feet shakily, Sora got to his feet only to crash back down to the ground once more, head already spinning from his lack of air. It was like the shadows were a python, crushing his chest and making it impossible to take in more air. Pretty soon, he wouldn't be able to keep going. That made it even more crucial that he get out when he can. Getting to his feet rapidly, Sora gave his body no time to react before he broke into an all-out sprint, closing his eyes once more, shielding them from the pain. He rushed through the shadows and the mist that surrounded him, feet making almost-inaudible sounds against the ground as he went. He would make it. He'd made it this far.

But his body was obviously thinking different. He felt heat rush to his face, sure that it would have turned red by now if not for the sticky black shadows pressing on him from head to toe. His strides became closer together, failing on themselves the farther he went, if he had even gone far. Stumbling now, not running, Sora threw his hands out in front of him, searching vainly for whatever Roxas had deemed 'The Exit.' Forcing his eyes open again, Sora skidded to a halt, eyes growing as wide as they could, pain slipping his mind. He could hear footsteps.

Without a doubt, they were Roxas's. Coming to a stop, Sora whirled around, listening as the rushing sound of footsteps got closer and closer. Roxas was heading for him, the boy probably didn't even know he was there, considering Sora was blending in the atmosphere around the two of them. Closing his eyes, Sora stayed still, swaying slightly were he stood and waiting as Roxas came closer and closer. Just as Roxas was about to pass him up, Sora spun around, snapping open his eyes and throwing himself forward. Slamming into Roxas, Sora brought the both of them rushing to the ground, Roxas letting out a surprised yell as Sora pinned him to the ground.

Sora tried to say something, but with the lack of air, it came out as thin, raspy noises, that made Roxas more confused than angry. Recovering from his initial surprise, Roxas scowled. "Get off of me!" He yelled loudly, lurching up and hitting Sora across the face with his closed fist. Sora rolled off of Roxas from the impact, skidding on the ground with a painful thud. Roxas pushed himself up, eyes wide as he looked at Sora. From the way he was looking, it was like Sora was an alien thing. "…What happened to you!" Roxas asked, scooting away from Sora with a bewildered look on his face.

Pushing himself up slowly, Sora looked over at Roxas, the blonde edging away as he saw the yellow flecks in the keybearer's eyes. "Help…" The words were barley audible, and yet Roxas heard it all the same. Knees folded underneath him, Roxas watched with just the smallest hint of anxiousness as Sora ducked his head, eyes closing gently, like he was going to sleep. Biting his lower lip, Roxas leaned forward, reaching out and giving Sora a small prod to his side. "…Sora?" He prompted, tilting his head to the side.

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"It's been an hour." Axel said, trying to clear out all worry and concern from his voice to make it level. "Don't you think he would have woken up by now?" Peering around Xemnas, Axel crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at Sora's limp body like a parent would if it was their child. Thankfully, nobody else was paying attention to him, their gazes transfixed on Sora like it was some kind of messed-up television show. Green eyes laden with guilt, Axel reminded himself that this was his fault.

"We wont wake him, it wouldn't work no matter how hard we try." Xemnas said, narrowed eyes intent on Sora's unconscious state. "The process is either starting already or nearing the point. Roxas is much stronger than Sora at this time, it is only a matter of time before Roxas is stronger than Sora, and is able to resurface back to us." Glancing back at Axel, Xemnas shook his head slowly. "There is no point in trying to escape the inevitable."

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but obviously thought better of it. Snapping his mouth closed, he looked away dejectedly, looking up at the ceiling instead, in what he hoped was an uncaring expression. Or bored, bored would have worked as well. But as he caught Xaldin's eye, Axel realized it wasn't good enough. Immediately reacting badly, Axel's hands fell to his side, one going up and forming a threatening fist. "I swear, if you weren't in the Organization, I would have killed you a thousand times over by now."

"Oh, so scary." Xaldin sniffed, lip curling in disgust. "Too bad you couldn't even be bothered to do anything now. You're MUCH too busy worrying about Sora, right?"

Xemnas turned, both interest and sourness lingering in the man's eyes as he looked at Axel. He was waiting for Axel's response, and Axel could tell by the way he looked at him, that he had to come up with something fast. Unnerved, Axel heaved a small sigh, green eyes shimmering with irritation. "I didn't say anything about Sora, if you'll remember, I was the one that did this to him." He gestured back to the boy's state, eyebrows raised as if he was looking at an idiot. And he was. But that was besides the point. It was obvious from the looks on Xigbar, Luxord, and Saix's faces that they sided with Xaldin on that note. Was his concern with the boy that obvious?

"You didn't do this to him." Xigbar snorted, rolling his eyes. "We all know you would never be able to do real harm to him."

"Now, hang on!" Axel objected shrilly. "That's not true! I fought against him, both Xemnas and Saix saw!" He turned, ready for the two of the men crouched beside Sora, waiting for them to back him up. After all, they watched him the whole time! But his face fell, along with his hands as the two didn't even glance back at him. They were still watching Sora, the boy's forehead creating a crease as if he were in sudden pain. Axel watched, eyes slightly wider than normal as the boy's breathing became labored, the boy twitching and convulsing. "What's happening now?" Axel demanded, coming over to stand over Sora, glancing at the others as he did so. But to his relief, they seemed more interested in Sora than Axel's actions, which would have thrown away what he had just said and flushed it down the toilet. Feeling a small sense of relief, Axel looked back down at Sora, waiting for an answer to his question.

Xemnas did not look away from Sora, yellow eyes shining with something far too close to hunger. "Roxas!" He yelled, voice full of the commanding authority he had over the Organization. It was like he was calling a dog, the thought making Axel scowl angrily. "Come back to us, Roxas! You are the true keybearer!"

Axel bit his lip, turning around and walking away quickly. "I'll make sure that Maleficent doesn't see this." He explained himself, at the suspicious looks of the others trained on him. "If she sees what we're doing, she might break her end of the deal. And then this whole thing will be for nothing." In reality, all he wanted was to get out of that room. Anything if he got to leave. Even if it meant he had to deal with the witch and that weird cat-thing for a while.

As he shut the door behind him, Axel ducked his head close to his chest, leaning against the wall. He knew for a fact that if Roxas was indeed going to come back, he would want to leave, just like he had before. And then Xemnas would force him to stay, just like he had Sora. Seeing Sora in that much pain was just bearable for Axel, after all, no matter what he looked like, Sora was NOT Roxas. But if it was Roxas's pained eyes rising up to meet his pleadingly…Axel could not even imagine how worse the pain would be. How worse it would be to just walk past this door and know that it was Roxas inside, being hurt and tossed aside like a doll. No, if Roxas was here, it would be far worse for Axel in the long run.

Closing his eyes tightly, Axel spoke in a small whisper to the hall. "Please, Roxas." He whispered thinly. "Wherever you are…whatever you're doing…don't fall for it. Please."

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The voice seemed to echo around the shadowed place, Roxas closing his eyes tightly in response to the words. It was Xemnas's there was no mistake. It wasn't like Roxas could ever forget the voice of his old boss. Looking now at Sora's body stretched out in front of him, he couldn't find a reason to argue with the man. He knew for a fact that if it was him, he wouldn't have been as afraid of the shadows like Sora had been. What kind of hero ran away from something? The shadows only clung to you if you feared them, that was the reason why the shadows were not seizing him like they had Sora. It was obvious that Sora was done for, there wasn't much that Roxas could do.

A light started to shine in his eyes. Did that mean he was free? He was free from Sora? Could he be his own person now? Surely he wouldn't die along with Sora! If he could only find a way to get out, it would make sense that he would be the main one! He wouldn't even have a nobody if Sora was dead! He couldn't help but let a large smile crawl across his face. He could have a heart! He could get out of the shadows! He could-

"Don't fall for it! Please!" A sudden voice rang throughout the room, Roxas stiffening. He would know that name anywhere, he knew it like the back of his hand. Axel. What did he mean, don't fall for it? If he could get out, surely he would be able to do anything he pleased! Did Axel not want him to be full when he was a nobody? Colors started to rush in to Roxas's mind, almost like flashbacks, except he had never seen these things for himself. It must have been something from Axel's point of view. Was that possible?

The images were all of Sora. Sora trying to fight off the whole of the Organization at once, his being captured. Xaldin and Sora's fight, with Sora a breath away from death. Sora's attempt to run away, him almost making it. Sora screaming in pain, Sora getting stabbed in the leg, the keybearer letting out a howl of pain. The images flashed through Roxas's mind in a heartbeat, and then vanished into thin air, as if nothing had happened at all. But then again…what HAD happened? Roxas's wide blue eyes were now filled with something close to fear, a rare expression from the headstrong Nobody. For the first time, he remembered what Sora had looked like before, the torn clothes, the large gash on his forehead, and the many scrapes and bruises that lined the keybearer's arms. How had Roxas not noticed it before?

Looking from Sora to the direction where the voice had come from, Roxas narrowed his eyes slightly. Axel had given him a warning, clear as day. 'Come back, and the same thing will be waiting for you.' Roxas hadn't been gone that long to have forgotten the way Axel worked. Even if he had to defy the Organization, Axel's first priority would always be for his friend. And Roxas would not betray that trust, knowing the danger that Axel would be in if Xemnas found out what he had just done. And also the sure pain that Roxas would be if he fell for Xemnas's trick and went out on his own.

Sora had wanted to go back. The thought made Roxas shift his gaze back down to the boy's fallen body. Why? Why did he want to go back if that whole thing was just inside waiting for him? He let out a small sigh, shoulders sagging slightly. Well, he wasn't just going to sit in the darkness for no reason. Going forward, Roxas grabbed hold of Sora, wriggling his hands underneath the boy's shadow-coated body. With a grunt, Roxas pulled Sora up and slung the keybearer over his shoulder with difficulty. One eye closed, he gritted his teeth together, starting in the direction that the voice had come from.

When Roxas held tightly to Sora, the blonde stopped, blue eyes slightly surprise as the shadows started to drip off of Sora like water, spilling down to the ground with a faint plopping noise. Slowly, Sora's head was cleared from the thick substance, his head dropping slightly as if the shadows had been the one holding it up. His blue eyes were closed, and yet Roxas fought back his scowl as the nagging thought entered his head. They looked a lot alike.

Looking back in front of him, Roxas growled under his breath, making for where he had thought the voice had come from. Hopefully that would be enough clues for him to follow in order to get Sora out of here. Reluctantly, he had to admit that this place was not for Sora. After all, he was supposed to be on the other side, Roxas was supposed to be the one here. It was where a Nobody belonged, if they weren't in the Organization that is.

Casting a glance back at Sora, Roxas spoke up, voice agitated. "Don't say I never did anything for you." He grumbled.

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Sora felt as though he were floating through nothing, eyes closed as he flew slowly through the darkness that surrounded him. But, he felt…different…than before. The cold that was clinging to him before was much different than the one that enveloped him now. It had sucked all the warmth out of his body, leaving him shivering and teeth chattering. This cold was fresh, cool against his skin and making him feel comforted. It was a familiar sort of cold.

Slowly, Sora cracked open his eyes, mouth frowning into a small grimace as he did so. But then they both flew open, an expression of both surprise and sheer bliss making a large smile spread from ear to ear. He was surrounded by water, brightly shimmering as the sun slanted through the waves up above him. Coral and seashells surrounded him on all but one side, which branched away to a distinctly shimmering city to the right. He knew this place, as sure as he would know any other world he had visited before. He was in Atlantica!

Looking down at himself, Sora saw a large blue dolphin tail in replace of his legs. How did he get here? But who cared! He was away from the Organization! He was free! He had no idea how he got here, but he was here! As if to express his excitement, Sora flipped around, tail flipping back and forth rapidly as he flipped and turned. Blue eyes shimmering with happiness, Sora almost didn't hear a small voice calling his name. Blinking rapidly, Sora looked up, jaw dropping open as he saw who was floating above him, close to the surface of the water.

Ariel was there, of course, red hair drifting up in the water, her eyes sparkling with a small hint of mischief as he looked down at him. But that wasn't what surprised him the most. Treading water next to her, were Donald and Goofy, both unharmed and looking happy to see him. "…What?" He whispered, looking from Ariel to his two friends. "What's happening?" He asked, head tilted to the side. "Am I dreaming?"

Goofy laughed in the same silly way he always did. Sora looked up at him, blue eyes wide. "I think ya WERE!" He giggled, eyeing Sora as if the boy had done something funny. "You were over there a little ways just driftin!" He laughed once more. "I think ya were asleep."

Donald let out a small huff, deadpanning down at the keybearer. "You were asleep for a long time." He commented, rather irritably. "If it wasn't for this guy over here," He jabbed a thumb over at Goofy, Goofy seeming unbothered by the gesture as he continued to grin. "I would have woken you up and we would be on our way now." It was clear in the duck's voice that he wasn't too happy with Sora as of now.

"Oh, let him be." Ariel chastised gently, flashing Sora a soft look. "He's just tired, can you blame him?"

"…So it was all a dream?" Sora asked, blinking up at his friends, still confused. "Every bit of it?"

"What do ya mean?" Goofy ask, tilting his head.

"The Organization…t-the Shadows…" He trailed off for a moment, eyes started to blur with tears as he looked at Donald and Goofy fully. "You two…were dead. I was lost. I didn't know what to do." He remained still where he was, thinking that if he didn't move, things wouldn't break apart like glass. But it had to be real, right?

Donald looked slightly surprised by this, looking like he had regretted speaking so harshly to his friend. Goofy looked sad and confused for a moment, before he grinned easily once more. "Nope!" He said smoothly, beaming once more as if nothing had happened. "You've been here this whole time! We were watchin you, weren't we Donald?"

"Go ahead and phrase it weird…" Donald grumbled, eyeing Goofy.

"There's none of those Organization people here! There's never trouble here!" Goofy assured him easily. "Which reminds me, we were going up to the surface to check on Ariel's prince!" Ariel blushed fiercely at this, turning away and looking like she wanted to sink through the ocean floor. Sora hesitated, looking from one of his friends to the other. Blue eyes still watery, Sora kicked up to meet Donald and Goofy, tears spilling over his cheeks and melting into the ocean around him as he wrapped the two in a tight hug.

"I can't believe its really you!" He cried, tightening his grip so that he almost choked them. "I thought I'd never see you guys again! I thought…I don't know what I thought, but I thought something!" Sora shook the two in time with his words at the last sentence. Donald looked ready to kill, but Goofy had turned into a fit of giggles. Though in his state, even Donald figured out that he shouldn't try to get away from Sora right now. The boy was in tears. "I love you guys!" He sobbed, ducking his head close to his chest. "I never want to lose you two again, okay?"

"Come on, Sora, we're fine." Donald said, drawing the line and wriggling out of Sora's grasp gently. "Come on, let's go check on Prince Eric!"

"Yeah, Sora! It'll be fun! We'll be right with you." Goofy promised.

Reaching up to his face, Sora wiped his eyes roughly with the back of his arm, smiling now. Red blotches spreading over his face, he felt red with embarrassment. "Okay!" He agreed, just relieved to be doing something else than sitting in that room. "Let's go!" The three nodded, clone smiles on all their faces as they turned up and swam the last stretch that brought them up to the world above the ocean. Sora paused for a moment, smiling wide as he looked around him at the scenery. Shaking himself, Sora launched himself up, breaking the surface and going up to the outside world.

Sora gasped sharply for breath, blue eyes wide with fright. The moment his eyes opened, he pushed himself up as quick as he could, head spinning as he swayed slightly. Chest heaving for breath, Sora's vision shivered back into place, the boy blinking rapidly until it returned to normal. Still breathing like he had run a million miles, Sora turned, looking around at his surroundings with confusion. He was…back…inside the room…but, that wasn't possible! He had gone to Atlantica, he had SEEN Donald and Goofy again! He held them!

And yet here he was.

At the sound of voices, Sora's head snapped back up. Xemnas and Maleficent stood in the doorway, looking ready to launch themselves at each other. Axel and the other Organization members stood off to the side in a group, watching cautiously, out of reach just in case. "Of course we're doing nothing to him!" Xemnas was yelling. "He just fell unconscious!"

"I think you're going back on your deal, Xemnas." The witch was snarling. "You'd best not, if you'd want to get anywhere at all! Don't break a deal with a witch, for you will surely regret it."

"I'm doing no such thing!" Xemnas said, voice calmer by now. Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Xemnas turned, yellow eyes blazing with both anger and surprise as he saw Sora gasping for breath where he had left the unconscious boy only minutes before. But then he recovered himself, stepping to the side and displaying the key bearer to the witch. "There, you see?" He asked, eyebrows raised. "He is fine."

Maleficent snarled in reply, ice-cold gaze piercing Sora's own. The boy scooted backwards slightly as she glared at him coldly. Seeming to shrink under the witch's gaze, Sora looked the other way, overcome with too many emotions to count with the idea that what he had just witnessed was a dream in itself. "Very well." Maleficent snapping icily. "But rest assured, Xemnas, I WILL be watching you closely from now on."

With that, the witch turned and left, stalking out of the room with her heels clicking behind her rapidly. Sora was still in shock, blue eyes wide as they flickered around the room a little aimlessly. The door closed behind Maleficent, and for a moment, the room was silent. But then Xemnas turned swiftly, eyes like two flames of anger as he scowled at Sora. The boy gulped the lump back into his throat, and watching apprehensively as the leader stalked over to him. Leaning down swiftly, he jabbed a finger into Sora's chest, a little accusingly. "You are either very LUCKY or very UNLUCKY." He snarled, drawing back sharply. "We'll see which one you figure you are."

Turning around Xemnas walked away, opening the door and slamming it behind him. Casting glances back at Sora, the other of the Organization followed suit, as if Xemnas had called them all at once. Axel was last to leave, standing in the doorway when Sora spoke up. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, voice thick with sadness. Axel froze for a moment, slowly turning around to face Sora, green eyes guarded. The boy's knees were to his chest, and his blue eyes bored into Axel's green ones.

"…You already know why." Axel snapped, a little harsher than he meant. "To be whole."

"But you already are whole." Sora whispered, obviously afraid to contradict him.

"We're Nobodies." Axel said flatly. "Of course we have no hearts."

"But you feel." Sora murmured. "You have feelings." When Axel didn't reply, Sora ducked his head closer to himself, going on. "You felt happiness when you got me here, victory whenever I kill the heartless. You felt angry when I tried to leave, and you looked surprised to have gotten me back so early." Axel's eyes were wide by now. "And…whenever you look at me…you look…sad." Sora raised his blue eyes back up to Axel, without moving his head. The red-haired man blinked, still standing in the doorway and looking a little lost. Sora added softly, lowering his gaze. "You don't need a heart. You can feel without one. What more do you need?"

Silence. Axel stood in the doorway, a little lost for words. But then his eyes hardened, jaw locking back as he tried to hold back what he really wanted to say. Xemnas would be watching, he was sure of it now. The man was just still down the hall. "You don't know anything." He snapped. Sora blinked for a moment, then hung his head again, as if he couldn't have a good enough reply. As if he were too tired to try and stand up for himself.

Feeling sick to his stomach, Axel shut the door softly behind him, staring almost guiltily at the ground. Xemnas's voice sounded, at the end of the hall. "Very good, Axel." He said approvingly, turning around and walking back to his study. Axel should have felt pride in the words, but his only emotion was sheer guilt, clawing at his stomach and making him want to vomit.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Don't you all think for a minute that I'm done with anti ;)

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Leon was avoiding her. The thought made Yuffie scowl irritably, the black-haired girl leaning against Merlin's wall with a sour expression. WHY did he have to make things so difficult, huh? The thought only increased her bad mood. With everything going on right now, you would think that Leon would have sucked it up and gotten in with everybody else's planning. All the others were gathered inside Merlin's house, including the wizard himself, who was busy trying to test out if he could locate Sora just enough to poof his way to the key bearer. It wasn't working. Isn't that a shock?

Goofy noticed Yuffie's angered expression a long time ago, Yuffie was acutely aware of the way Sora's sidekick would look her way anxiously from time to time. Once or twice, the girl considered telling Goofy was troubling her, if only to get him off of her back. And yet, she knew that it wouldn't have a good ending, considering that Donald was sticking to his friend like glue nowadays. If the duck heard what had happened with Leon, there was no doubt at all that soon everybody else would know in ten seconds flat. It was more than clear to everybody that Donald wasn't exactly the most sympathetic of the group.

And yet, Yuffie couldn't blame them. Every time Yuffie looked at them, it seemed like another part of her heart ripped. The two were always standing within arms reach it seemed, whether out of fear, or support, Yuffie had no idea. But it seemed like they were lost without the last knot to tie them together. It was true that Sora was the main leader of the group. It was like children playing Follow the Leader. How could you play the game without a Leader? It wasn't possible. Shaking her head slightly, Yuffie stuffed her bad attitude back down, deciding she would deal with it later.

Smiling gently, Yuffie let her arms fall back down to her sides, leaning off the wall and weaving through the crowd to stand beside the two 'junior heroes.' "Hey there." She said, sounding chipper as she tilted her head to the side, smiling wide. "What are you two up to?" It wasn't a very creative question, but it was a question all the same. Goofy's mouth moved in reply, but Yuffie couldn't hear. Throwing a frustrated look over at the crowd taking up all the space in the house, Yuffie fought not to yell at them all to be quiet. Catching her look, Goofy smiled sloppily before raising his voice slightly in order to be heard.

"Nothing much!" Goofy answered, Yuffie watching as Donald started to examine his weapon carefully, probably searching for things such as cracks or small bumps. Or he was just doing it to be doing something, either one worked just as well. Goofy looked back to the crowd, eyes slightly shaded with worry. "I wonder if they're thinking up somethin with all the fuss they're makin over there." Donald paused in his examination of his weapon, flashing Goofy with a look before he shook himself, turning back to busy himself pointlessly.

Pausing for a moment, Yuffie turned, gray eyes trained thoughtfully on the group in front of the three of them. Merlin had a disgruntled expression on his face, it was plain as day that the wizard was failing in his attempts to poof his way to Sora. Something that made Yuffie wince inwardly. It wasn't every day that magic as powerful as Merlin's failed the wizard. After all, he was the best magician Yuffie had ever known. The only one she knew, come to think of it. Seeing the old man's crestfallen expression made her bristle inside.

"What about King Mickey?" Aerith asked softly, eyes anxious. "Doesn't he know the danger Sora is in? Why doesn't he help him?"

"We have no idea where the King is." Merlin explained in that gentle way he always spoke. Blue eyes kind, he went on. "I'm sure that if the King were aware of Sora's situation, he would surely come to the rescue…" He trailed off, blinking for a moment before turning around to face Yuffie and the other two crowded beside her. He hesitated for a moment, obviously not sure whether or not he should ask something like this. But he shook himself, deciding it was better to do so now. "You two don't have a clue where the King is…do you?"

Goofy and Donald exchanged looks, lost and slightly confused. Donald was the one to speak, surprisingly, catching Yuffie slightly off-guard. "We don't know." The duck murmured quietly, blue eyes dropping to the ground as he spoke. Yuffie had barley ever seen the magician so subdued before, it wasn't normal. "That was on the list of things we had to do." Blue eyes coming up to meet Merlin's, he added in a tone he thought was helpful. "The last we heard of the King, he was in Twilight Town."

Yuffie hummed at the name of the town. Sounded very pretty to her. Better than Hollow Bastian.

Goofy fell silent, but then lurched forward, accidentally pushing Donald over in the process. "We could go try and find the King for ya!" He offered, the same regular smile plastered once more on his face. Seeing it, Yuffie had to smile as well, you just couldn't not smile at one of Goofy's smiles. "I'm sure that we could find him, and then he'll have a sure-fire way of gettin to Sora!" Yuffie had to admit, the plan sounded good. But still, she felt a flash of fear at the thought of the two going off on their own once more. It didn't turn out good at all last time.

Merlin seemed to think the same, looking the two up and down carefully. "You'll be safe?"

"Of course!" Donald agreed eagerly, the duck seeming to brighten at the new plan.

When Merlin still looked hesitant, Cid spoke up, rolling his eyes as he played with the toothpick that rested in between his teeth. "Merlin, just let em get." He said roughly, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture at the two in front of him. "They wont stay here for long, I've seen the way they've been walkin' around this place. Being cooped up in here isn't doing them any good. Let them go and search for their friends, that'll at least get them out of my hair."

Despite his irritated words, Yuffie smiled even more as she saw a small glimmer of affection in them man's eyes. She knew the story about when Sora had first come to meet them, back on his first quest. Cid had been the first to encounter the child, after he had rushed away from the heartless that were trailing on him like dogs to canned food. Cid had always left out the part about telling Sora he would look after him every time he told the story to the others in the group. But the first time Yuffie had asked the story from Sora, the two were alone, and Yuffie had listened with a secret smile at the part that Cid had edited. No doubt Cid was just as worried as they were, behind his mask of toughness, that was.

Goofy and Donald stood for a moment, as if they were unsure what to do with all gazes trained on them. But then Merlin gave a small nod of affirmation. "It's the best plan we've come up with so far." He agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Find the King as quickly as you can, and when you find the King, bring him back here immediately. The worlds are falling, and without the keybearer to hold them together, they can all fall into chaos faster than you can count to five!"

When Goofy and Donald still looked confused, a hint of amusement played in Merlin's eyes. "You didn't think that we would have let you go off alone, did you?" He asked. When neither replied, he shook his head slowly. "No, bring the King back here first, we're going to rescue Sora together. The more fighters, the less trouble there will be, and the safer Sora will be." Muttering now, Yuffie wasn't sure she was supposed hear the last part he added. "We don't know what state we'll find the poor lad in."

Privately, Yuffie winced in agreement. Thankfully, Merlin did not notice, watching as Goofy and Donald brushed gently past Yuffie, making for outside. "Luck be with you!" He called after them. "I'm sure that you'll be back in no time!" Hesitating for a moment, Yuffie trailed after the two, gray eyes worried and concerned. The others flashed her looks as she went by, but did not try to stop her. Bursting outside, Yuffie called out to Goofy and Donald, shutting the door silently behind her.

"Wait up!" She puffed, quickening her pace and hopping to a stop behind the two. Goofy and Donald turned, twin expressions of confusion on their faces as they looked back at Yuffie. They didn't look irritated at all for her delay, which was something that Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief over. "I wanted to tell you guys to be careful." Yuffie explained, voice almost breathless. Which was weird, because she hadn't run that far at all. Just down the steps and a few paces before she stopped. "I-I wanted to give you these, just in case." She hadn't been planning on it, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Leaning over, Yuffie withdrew a few bottles of potions, extending her hands forward and handing the shimmering vials over to the two with a kind smile. "You know…put my mind at ease."

"Thanks!" Donald said sincerely, taking half of the potions while Goofy tucked the other half in his own pocket tightly. They had been out of potions, it was obvious by their relieved looks.

Leaning forward and looking them up and down carefully, Yuffie flinched slightly. "So…you're all healed now?" She asked promptly, gray eyes searching their own. "I mean- it's not like I'm worried or anything…" Eyes flashing down to the potions she had handed over, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, a force of habit. "Sorry, I guess that wont work too well." Blowing out a huff of air, she smiled once more. "Alright, I am a little worried."

"We'll be fine, Yuffie!" Goofy said comfortingly, smiling and tilting his head to the side. "You took good care of us when we were injured, and now we're all healed!" At Yuffie's skeptical look, he gave a small laugh. "Shoot, Yuffie, you saw us get better! We'll be fine, you'll see." Donald nodded vigorously where he stood, glancing over his shoulder, bouncing from one foot to the other. He was anxious to get going, and Yuffie didn't want to distract them any more than she already did.

But she had to get one thing off of her chest. "I just want to make sure that you'll come back." She confessed, feeling like a worry wart already. "I don't want anything else to happen to you and me just…not know." As she spoke the last part, she raised her eyes slowly to meet theirs, feeling blush make her cheeks turn red. When the two didn't say anything, she gave a breezy laugh, waving her hands in a dismissive motion. "Nah, you'll be fine, I know you will!" She giggled, worries being stomped back down. She felt like all she did these days was worry. "Just…get back soon with the King, alight?"

Donald smiled, giving her a small wink just before spinning around and dashing off, being the one to take the lead, of course. Goofy looked a little exasperated, glancing back at Yuffie and pausing only long enough to give her a little salute, meant in a friendly manner. But the motion only made Yuffie deflate even more, thinking of the last time she had seen Sora. But she watching with a grin as Goofy turned, calling out to Donald and complaining loudly. The two were like an old married couple sometimes. Sora was usually starring as: The child who was in the middle of the fighting parents and complaining about it every step he took.

Yuffie standing still for a moment more, she turned, ready to retreat back inside, when she froze. Leon was standing on the steps that led to Merlin's house, one hand extended to go and open the door. He blinked, turning around and eyeing Yuffie a little wearily as he met her gaze. They stared at one another for a while, nobody speaking as an awkward silence filled the space between them like a bridge. Leaning over, Leon spoke first, voice casual like whatever happened a few days ago didn't. "Where are they going?" He asked.

Glancing behind her shoulder, if only to break eye contact, Yuffie blinked, narrowing her eyes for a wild moment as she forgot where they were going. She felt like her thoughts were blowing away with the swift breeze that had started a while ago, ruffling her hair and making her clothes blow backwards slightly. "Oh…they went to go and find the King." Yuffie explained, turning back now, braver. "They're going to bring him back if they can find him, and he'll have a way to get to Sora."

"That's a pretty big IF." Leon said gruffly, stepping off the stairs and letting his arm fall back to his sides. "How are they supposed to find the King, anyway? Hasn't he been missing for a while now?" Yuffie twitched at the sentence, biting back a sharp retort that would have sent Leon running. She was silent for a moment, letting all her worries resurface for a moment as he struggled up through them. Grimacing, Yuffie turned her gaze to the ground, scuffing her foot against the ground softly.

But then she steeled herself, narrowing her eyes and looking up, locking eyes with Leon. Balling her hands into fists, Yuffie locked her jaw. "No, they'll find him." She assured the man swiftly, gray eyes now burning with determination. "I know they will. Goofy and Donald are just as scared for Sora, maybe even more that all of us combined. If anybody can find somebody to help Sora, they'll do it faster than any of us could."

Leon cocked an eyebrow at the girl. "I thought you were Miss Negative here?" He asked, teasing.

But it was enough to rub Yuffie the wrong way. Closing her eyes, she stuck her nose in the air. "If you can't have a decent conversation with me without insulting me in the process, you can just leave." When Leon didn't move, Yuffie growled, frustration getting the best of her. "Or do you have something else ridiculous that you want to spring on me in public? Or do you want me to step in the house so we can be in front of people?" Her voice was scathing, and Yuffie couldn't hold back a flash of satisfaction by the fact that Leon looked a little wounded.

Good. He deserved it. After all, who tells someone something like that in front of people? Especially considering the situation everybody is in! With a friend kidnapped, two people dangerously wounded and recovering, the other people in the group loosing hope faster than Yuffie could even comprehend, you'd think that Leon would be a little more sympathetic than this. Springing things onto people like this was not the way to go, at all. She hoped that Leon got the message.

It seemed like he did, though. The man's eyes narrowed, a scowl forming on his face. "No, that's fine." He spat back, eyes glittering with anger as he sized Yuffie up. "I wouldn't want to disrupt you from feeling sorry for yourself."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Yuffie yelled, taking a small step forward and glaring daggers at Leon. "You have NO right to say ANYTHING like that. So you'd better shut your mouth before I smack it off your face completely." Pausing for a moment, she added angrily, "Besides, you have no right to say that I'm the one feeling sorry for myself, I'm not the one running away from my problems like you've been doing. You've been gone all day, while I'VE been trying to help think of ways to get Sora back."

"I've been searching Hollow Bastian!" Leon fired back, just as quick. "To see if Sora was anywhere around here!"

"You told me to stop trying that weeks ago! Now what!" Yuffie snapped, red in the face.

Leon took another step forward, stalking more like it. "I thought you want to keep doing that!"

"I did! I guess I made the mistake of listening to you!"

"Look who's feeling sorry for themselves again!" Leon groaned, not amused.

Yuffie fumed. "Hey, you have no idea what I'm going through!" She yelled back.

Leon was nose-to-nose with her by now. Reaching forward, he jabbed her sharply in the stomach, accusingly. "I know it's nothing compared to what Sora's going through!" He yelled, too loudly as it made Yuffie's eardrums ring sharply. Blinking rapidly, Yuffie was too stunned to reply, eyes wide as she stared back at Leon. The man nodded at her sudden change in demeanor. "That's what I thought." He said, voice softer now, as if he regretted yelling in the first place.

Hesitating, Leon huffed, snatching his hand away and stomping away, back into Merlin's house. His shoulders were hunched, his steps slightly uneven as he went. Opening the door, he stepped inside, Yuffie just having time to see him straighten up and recover before he shut the door behind him with a small slam. He left Yuffie standing alone in the alley, the girl looking stupid with her mouth hanging slightly open, still stunned. The thoughts were just now registering in her mind, and Yuffie blinked rapidly. It was true. What Leon said was true.

She was selfish.

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The rain drummed softly outside the small place they were sitting in. The man that was not hooded stooped over the table he had left a while before to answer the door. He held a pencil tightly in his hand, scrawling out letters and symbols rapidly, still managing to keep up a conversation with the cloaked man sitting across from him. Muttering 'yes' and 'Mhmm's every now and then, the man's forehead was creased with thought and worry as he listened intently, making notes.

"I see now…" He said, voice thick with thought. Pausing for a moment as he skimmed the words he had written down rather sloppily, he set down the pencil, looking back up with a cleared look in his eyes. "From what you've told me, this has gone on for quite some time. Why are you just now coming to me for help?" His voice was blank, it always seemed that way. It was near impossible to tell what the man was thinking most of the time.

The cloaked figure hesitated before replying. "I thought for sure he would break out himself. And he did eventually. I thought that was the end of it, considering he went from world to world with no trouble at all. I figured he would catch up to Hollow Bastian and the others, but…he hesitated too long when he saw the heartless down below in the square. And when he stopped to talk to somebody there. If he hadn't wasted so much time doing those things, he probably would have made it." The figure sighed heavily, shoulders drooping. "But the Organization caught up to him…killed his two friends. I didn't stick around long enough to see if they made it or not."

"You're concerns are for Sora alone, it is understandable." The man said smoothly. "You've come for my help, and I'll be sure to give it to you, one way or another." Pausing a moment, he eyed the man. "You were hesitant to show this form of yourself to Sora." He reminded the man. "Changed your mind about that one, have you?"

The man sighed, but shook his head. "Sora's in danger. He could die. My pride shouldn't be something that kills him." Pausing a moment, the man reached up, pulling down his hood slowly, a little reluctantly. "You're sure that you'll be able to help him, Ansem?" He asked anxiously.

Ansem nodded once, slowly. "Yes, I do not talk for the pleasure of hearing my own voice." He said firmly. "But not today. Nor tomorrow. We need to think this through carefully, once we have the full story, we can take action. Plus, you look worn to the bone. I think you should go rest, and we'll talk more in the morning." Glancing at the clock on his desk, Ansem sighed lightly. "Technically it already is morning, but that's not the point."

The figure looked as though he were about to object.

Raising a hand up to stop him, Ansem shook his head. "No more, Riku." He said sternly, eyeing Riku where he sat across from him. "Rest now, we will talk later." Riku sighed, but did as he was told, getting up and exiting the room quickly. The rain had picked up by now, and Ansem felt a storm on its way. Giving a small sigh, the man turned, reaching over and flicking off the light beside him, plunging the room into darkness.

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A/N: Scary movies…I. HATE. SCARY. MOVIES. I DIDN'T EVEN WATCH THE SCARY MOVIE, I WAS IN THE OTHER ROOM! OH, BUT I HEARD ITS EVIL SOUNDTRACK OVER HERE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH MUSIC I LISTENED TO. NOW I HAVE TO GO UPSTAIRS IN THE DARK, FIND MY WAY TO THE OTHER STAIRS, THEN CLIMB THOSE, THEN RUN TO MY ROOM, ALL WHILE JUGGLING MY DOG! T^T

I give myself ten seconds….

Please let me live ;^;

Review! Review and make my suffering worth it! XDD

Chapter is void of Sora to give you all a break out there o3o


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: OMG WE ARE SO CLOSE TO 200 REVIEWS, I CAN TASTE IT!

Will you all make it a gift for me? 200 reviews? Please? :D

I would love every single person here forever. No joke.

You know that scary movie I told you about? Even though I didn't watch it, it gave me an idea for this story. So, at least my suffering was worth a little snag of information, right? ;3

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Three days had passed since Axel's encounter with Sora. Every day, Axel watched from the sidelines as Sora was led into the White Room, and locked inside for hours and hours on end. The sight of Sora's hung head when he came out of the place nearly broke Axel's heart into two whenever he saw the boy. If Sora kept going like this, it would surely be worse in the long run. But the man had left the scene today, refusing to watch today as he made his way through the castle, walking aimlessly through the large white halls, footsteps echoing and bouncing off of the walls as he went.

Head ducked, Axel tried to remember where he was. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and Axel was too worn-out to try and turn them somewhere he wanted to go. Instead, he let his thoughts busy themselves in his head, as if to block out everything else that was going on in front of him. He was trying his hardest to become oblivious to all that stuff. It wasn't until he ran out of things to think about before he realized where he was, with a small pang in his heart.

He was in the top part of the castle, the wide-room that was spent as either a hang-out place or a place to get their missions surrounding him where he stood. At the far edge of the room, instead of a wall, there was a large window, so clean it looked like there was nothing there at all. Like you could fall over the side if you went over and pressed up on it. Blazing up in the sky, Kingdom Hearts shone down brightly, shedding cold light over the room, washing Axel in a silver light. It was more than half-full by now, Axel reflected, not sure whether he should be happy by the fact.

He shook his head roughly, scuffing his foot on the ground in exasperation. Of course he should be happy! Once Kingdom Hearts was filled, they would all become whole, with hearts to call their own, and a new prospect in life, as their own person. Plus, that would mean that Sora wouldn't have to stay here anymore. Then the boy could- Axel blinked, looking down at the ground. That was right, he remembered now. Once Sora wasn't of use to the Organization anymore, he would get handed off to Maleficent…and then that would be the end of it.

So it looked like either which way Sora went, he would lose. There was no getting out of the situation he was in. Standing in the silence of the room, Axel suddenly remembered the door branching off to the left, jerking into attention as he turned slowly, green eyes slightly shadowed as he blinked slowly. Before he could think of what he was doing, he turned, walking back a few steps and standing in front of the door. Hesitating for a beat of silence, he shook himself, ready to turn and go back the way he had come. But his hand flew forward, pushing the door open swiftly, a faint creaking noise slicing through the silence that seemed to press on the whole castle.

Stepping inside the room carefully, Axel treated it almost like he was stepping on glass. Green eyes scanning the large room, he steeled himself, walking forward normally and coming to a stop beside the bed that rested against the wall. It was nice and neat, the blanket not even showing a small wrinkle on the surface. It had been made, and then gone untouched. Tearing his gaze away from the piece of furniture, Axel turned instead to stare at the small bedside table that was tucked close to the bed. Green eyes flashing, Axel knelt down slowly, green eyes roving around the surface of the wooden surface.

Small seashells were lined up neatly together, forming a straight column that repeated itself. There were seashells of every color. Light green, white, orange, yellow, red, and even a small tinge of pink showing itself on some of the shells. Axel had always known that Roxas was collecting something, but he never looked at them closely before. Seeing these things in front of him made a pang of sadness shake Axel so hard, he thought he might lose his balance and fall. Seeing these made him remember Xion as well, the times they always went up to the Tower together and had ice cream.

He had to admit, he didn't miss Xion as much as he missed Roxas, but he did miss all the times they used to hang out together. It gave him something to look forward to at the end of the day. With everything going on now, Axel was surprised he even had the drive to get out of bed in the morning. Shaking himself, Axel sighed softly to himself, getting back up to stand straight, green eyes still fixed on the shells. It was almost like a trance, he couldn't look away from the things, only causing more pain and sadness to surge up inside him like the waves on a beach. Like the waves on the beach where Xion got these stupid things in the first place.

Gaze fixed on the shells, Axel felt something stir within himself, a small force of determination. Remembering back to the way Sora had snapped out of whatever state he was in a few days ago, Axel knew without a doubt that Roxas had heard him. And that meant Roxas still trusted him, no matter what had happened before. Green eyes narrowing slowly, Axel growled deep in his throat. Roxas had put a small scoop of trust inside Axel's hands, and there was no way he was going to abuse that trust from his old friend.

Whipping back around, Axel stalked out of the room, hoping it looked like he had not even been here in the first place. Shutting the door behind him with a small click, Axel glanced back over his shoulder, as if he wanted to stay inside for a longer time than this. But he shook himself angrily, scowling as he did so. Glancing back the way he had come, Axel started back slowly, reluctantly. He knew it was the thing he had to do, Roxas had entrusted his faith into Axel, and Axel would not be the one to let his friend down. He was the only one Roxas could really count on.

But he wasn't all that sure of himself at the same time.

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Sora was panting, muscles burning and newly-earned wounds stinging like crazy on his skin. His blue eyes were screwed shut tightly, and he was trembling with pain and frustration. Grinding his teeth together, Sora tried his best to hold back his yell of agony, the scream having to make do with coming out as a faint noise from deep inside his throat. He had just been shoved back inside his prison/room, having spent the longest time he had ever fought at one time in the White Room. The vision of the heartless swarming over him, relentless and vicious, played over and over behind his eyelids.

He was sapped of energy, he wouldn't be able to get up and run to the edge of the room, no matter how small this stupid place was. A small noise of the doorknob moving made Sora wince away, like the noise had been amplified a million times. The small noise made it feel like a hammer was hitting inside his head faster than Sora could try and cover his ears. Letting out a small noise of complaint, Sora managed to roll over so that he faced the door, forcing himself to open his eyes bit by bit until they were open fully.

Blinking with a disoriented look on his face, Sora's forehead creased as he watched a tall figure step into the room, green eyes locking with his own blue orbs. Blinking slowly once more, Sora let out a confused mumble, blue eyes flashing as he spoke hesitantly. "…Goofy?" He asked, voice thick with puzzlement. "H-How did you get here?" He asked, blue eyes closing again.

Axel blinked, eyes flying open at Sora's state. He was even worse than the man had thought! Had even dared to think! Casting as glance back at the door he had closed behind him, Axel glared at the wood. Did nobody care if he got sick? Then how would he kill the heartless? Honestly, didn't these people think? But then again, maybe Xemnas thought if he was weak enough like this, there would be no way for him to try and disagree with whatever they wanted to do with him. The thought made Axel's lip curl upwards in disgust.

"Hey." Axel said, voice oddly gentle as he got into a crouch beside Sora. Axel was sure -he hoped- that Sora would not remember most of whatever went on right now. Even from where Axel knelt, he could feel heat radiating off of the boy. He was running a fever, sicker than Axel got whenever Xaldin had tried to flirt with Larxene. And Axel got pretty sick. When Sora did not open his eyes again, Axel placed the tray of food he had brought with him on the ground with a small clatter. "Hey, come on." Axel said, voice a little harsher now as he reached over and prodded Sora in the head. "I brought you something to eat, sit up."

Sora's only response was to curl up tighter to himself, burying his head away from Axel in the process. He let out a small mumble, something that would have been a sharp retort if he had been better than this. Hand slapping back down to the ground, Axel frowned, looking down at the tray of food he had placed on the ground. "C'mon, Sora." He sighed, rolling his eyes as he did so. He knew the kid could get childish, but was this really necessary? But then again, he couldn't blame Sora, he could blame the others. With no food and fighting heartless for hours on end each and every day, Axel should have seen this one coming.

When Sora refused to 'un-curl' enough to look at him, Axel huffed, giving up. Twisting around, the man dug his hand into his cloak, withdrawing a small bottle. "Do you know how much potion I'm wasting on you?" He grumbled, anger only increasing as he couldn't manage to get the bottle opened. "This is probably my last one, now I'll have to go out and get some more somehow." Growling, he finally popped the top off of the sparkling jar, giving a swift nod at his accomplishment. "Alright, Sora hang on a minute." He hesitated a moment, face souring. "You can't get mad at me when I give this to you." He snapped to the unmoving keybearer. "'Cause I know as soon as I give it to you, you're going to start yelling at me."

Sora did not budge.

Worry for the child outweighed Axel's anger foreseen in the next ten seconds. Holding the bottle tightly, Axel leaned forward, spilling the sparkling contents out over the boy's hunched figure. Drawing back from Sora, Axel set the now-empty bottle next to the tray of food, watching in silence as the potion started to sink away, disappearing in a flash like it had never even been there. But it HAD been there, and Axel would not let that go. It was his last potion, the kid would be thankful, otherwise Axel was going to explode.

There was a change in Sora instantly. The boy jerked, peering out from his still-curled-up state, alarm flashing in his eyes as he saw Axel. But it wasn't angry alarm, it was more like he's-here-but-I-have-no-chance kind of alarm. But nevertheless, Sora scrambled up to a sitting position, wincing slightly as he did so, but Axel wasn't sure he was supposed to see that. Sora's eyes were still feverishly bright, but it wasn't as bad as it was before, obviously. If he managed to recognize Axel this time.

It was silent for a moment, the two being able to hear murmurings outside the door. Finally, Sora spoke up first. "What?" He asked bluntly, looking Axel up and down. Axel's prediction was right after all, Sora didn't remember calling him by his friend's name. He also didn't remember Axel's moment of weakness when he was nicer to him. But then again, he wouldn't be all that surprised if Sora didn't hear him in the first place. When Axel hesitated in answering him, Sora glared at the red-head. "If you're just going to stare at me some more, you might as well take a picture. It'll last longer than I will." There was no humor in the boy's voice, it was as dead as all the heartless the boy had been sent to kill. His blue eyes didn't shine the way they always did when he used sarcasm, either. They were dull as they met Axel's own.

Clearing his throat, Axel pushed his nerves down swiftly. "IF you didn't notice." He said, putting emphasis on the word. "I just used my last potion on a little ungrateful kid." Shrugging he nodded to the tray of food as well. "I was going to give him this too, but so far, he's just making me mad." Glancing back at the door, Axel had hoped that nobody would be listening in on them. But he had heard scuffling on the other side when it was quiet, he was forced to keep up his irritated act.

Sora hesitated a moment, then hardened his gaze. "I was fine." He spat. "You didn't have to do that if it was such a big task. What, did you think you were all high and mighty in doing that? That I would forgive all this stuff and immediately stop wondering why you're such a creep?" Axel blinked rapidly at the word, confused. "No thanks." Sora snapped, blue eyes blazing with a small hint of his old attitude.

Axel growled, green eyes irritated. "Now, listen here!" He yelled, shoving the tray of food closer to Sora with a scrape against the lightly-charred down. "I went to all this trouble making this for you, I just WASTED my last potion if you're acting like this, so you might as well show a little sliver of gratitude and eat this food!" He didn't have to act for that one. Sora eyed him hotly, cheeks slightly puffed out as he eyed Axel, looking from the man to the food, as if torn. "I didn't poison it, you idiot." Axel snapped. "It's fine."

Sora continued to glare at him. "Just leave me alone!" Sora yelled sharply. "Why can't you do that for me, huh? You come in here and give me mixed messages! It seems like every time you leave, I'm more confused than ever!" Pausing a moment he added harshly. "I wont listen to you at all until you tell me who Roxas is." The question made Axel freeze, a movement that did not escape Sora's vision. "That's right. Tell me who he is, or you wont get anywhere with me."

Axel heard clambering on the other side of the door, Sora's irritated eyes flickering over to the noises as well. He was insulted that the others didn't have enough faith in him to let him deal with this by himself, without them rushing to the rescue. Before the others could get the door open, he said flatly, green eyes flaring. "I do NOT have to answer to YOU." Axel said, real anger starting to creep into his voice the longer this went on. He knew if is continued like this, he would do something he would regret surely.

"Right, you just want to talk to Roxas, not me." Sora said, a little sarcastically. Ignoring Axel's infuriated expression, he added, sharp as nails. "Listen to me." He snarled, leaning closer to Axel and jabbing a finger into the man's chest. "I. Am. Not. Roxas." He said clearly, anger in every syllable. "You might have some weird thought in your head concerning that guy, but I am not him. So if you're just being nice to me because of him for some reason, stop it. You've called me that name more than once. I'm not Roxas, I'm SORA!"

Axel froze again, eyes widening slightly, a little hurt. He remembered the almost same exact sentence from Roxas, the blonde being driven to madness when he had found out that his whole Twilight Town was a sham to him. The blue eyes almost exactly matched Sora, if not being a little darker than the ones that bored into him now. The familiar voice rang inside his head, and Axel did his best not to flinch away from it like it had burned him. "I'm not Sora!" Roxas screamed, frustration and anger alive in his tone. "I'm ROXAS!"

"Now you're staring at me again." Sora growled, obviously losing patience as fast as an open dam.

Axel growled, eyes dark and narrowed for a moment. But then he shot forward, missing spilling the food everywhere as if by a miracle. Knocking Sora backwards. Axel pinned Sora down to the ground, full weight pressed down on the keybearer as he gripped Sora's collar tightly in his fist. Sora gasped quickly, hyperventilating as he looked at Axel with newfound fear in his eyes. The man was seething with anger, Sora gasping sharply as the cloth in Axel's fisted hand started to smoke, as if Axel's hand were on fire.

"I wanted to help you." Axel growled, green eyes pits of unending anger as he looked at Sora. "But if you think that I'm going to help you now, you are severely mistaken." His words were a fierce whisper, minding the people on the other side of the door through his blinding anger. "You just wasted your last chance at getting out of here, do you know that? All I did was try and help you, and you just threw it back it my face."

It was obvious that Axel would have much rather been screaming right now. Sora's eyes were as round as twin moons, hurt, surprise, and utter disbelief mingling in the blue depths. He tried to say something, but he didn't think Axel would even pay attention to him at all. But he might as well try, if what Axel was saying was true. "I-I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, just managing to get it out. His collar was staining gray by now, no doubt turning to black if Axel continued to pin him down.

"Oh, I bet you are." Axel growled, snatching his hand back and continuing to glare at Sora as he stood up. "Take a piece of advice, kid. Don't underestimate the people around you. Got it memorized?" Turning around, he threw over his shoulder, "I would have been a powerful friend to have, if you know what I mean."

It was like a blow to Sora, the boy letting in a sharp gasp, shoulders shaking up and down.

Before Sora could say anything else, the door opened, Xaldin glaring inside the room with a scowl on his face. "Axel." He growled, looking the man up and down. Somehow, Axel had managed to pull himself together to look the same as he always did before. But it didn't help that Sora was still looking like Axel had just murdered somebody in front of him. "You have missions to go out on, have you forgotten?" Xaldin asked, suspicion shining in the man's eyes.

Axel sighed lightly. Sora couldn't believe it! The man didn't even look the slightest bit angry! "Fine." Axel drawled, rolling his eyes. Turning back around to face Sora, he pointed over to the food. "Eat." He said, almost lazily. Sora grumbled under his breath, narrowing his eyes and looking like he would've wanted to object. But he didn't dare anymore. Sidling over, the boy sat down by the tray, looking down crossly at the food, like it was their fault.

Axel went out of the room in a flash, brushing past Xaldin with a little more force than needed. The other Organization Member growled, ducking out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Sora was alone once more, and he had to admit, the food looked more than perfect, his stomach agreeing with him with a hungry rumble.

Eventually, he gave in, reaching over and looking numbly at the plastic fork. "I'm an idiot." He sighed heavily, shoulders sagging as he spoke. Eyes flashing over one last time to look after Axel, Sora wondered if what the man had said was even true or not. Not that it mattered, since Axel would refuse to look at him from now on. But still…should he even start to beat himself up? He wasn't sure he even trusted that guy, he was weird.

But as he started to eat, Sora realized it. From his gut, or something else inside of him, Sora realized that…he DID trust Axel.

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The streets of Twilight Town were lit up in the relaxing shade of orange as it always was. Goofy and Donald walked along the darker-paved cobblestones, where the trolley would usually go across. But the train was ahead of them, the two watching it as it made its was slowly around the town square. Everything about this town was laid-back it seemed, the only thing people having to worry about were things like homework, or when the next Struggle match would be held.

All in all, Goofy and Donald looked out of sorts in the town, with their worried expressions and quick walking. They were rushed, that much was certain. They had stopped on the way to Twilight Town to inspect the Disney Castle, figuring that the place would be prime for the King to be. And yet, they came up empty-handed. All they found was the Queen and Daisy, the two obviously surprised by their sudden appearance.

"Everything is perfect here." Minnie had said, looking between the two of them carefully. "Have you come just to say hello?" Her voice were doubtful, as if she couldn't believe it. But her eyes were unusually stern, ready to chastise them for being so careless if that was the case. They hadn't seen her since the deal with Maleficent trying to take their castle. They should have only been there on their quest, or not at all. Daisy, on the other hand, looked just fine with their hello.

Goofy gave a small sigh, remembering the way they had told Minnie of their situation. It was painful even now, after they had managed to get away from them just barely. The Queen had been horrified, having just noticed Sora's absence a moment before. "That's terrible!" She squealed, all doubt and disbelief fading from her eyes to be replaced by horror and worry. "Do you have any idea where he is? What will the worlds do without him? What will happen to the castle? Is he still alive?"

The last question still rang shrilly in Goofy's ears, even now. They had left the Castle just an hour ago, unable to leave for ages, the Queen having fussed over them for who knows how long. WAS Sora still alive? Goofy didn't know. Donald didn't either. By the look on his friend's silent face, the duck was clearly thinking the same thing. Itching to break the silence, Goofy offered, "We'll find 'em." If only to assure the duck a little bit more.

Donald flashed him a grateful look, smiling.

They were walking towards the Sand Lot, walking the town aimlessly. It was as if they expected somebody to just jump out at them. But no sooner did the thought go through Goofy's mind, did a small voice come out from behind the two. "Hey, guys!" The two turned, twin smiles worming their way on their faces as they recognized the girl standing in front of them. Olette smiled at them, green eyes sparkling. "I thought you guys would be around here." She giggled.

"How's that?" Goofy asked, tilting his head to the side.

Olette motioned with her thumb to point behind you. "There's somebody here that was looking for you guys." She explained.

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A/N: Please note that my sister is kicking me off the computer :3

I don't like cliffhangers, if I can help it. Or if they are needed. So I'm sorry ;^:

But please review! The more reviews I get COUGHCOUGH*maybe over than 200?*COUGHCOUGH the faster I shall get myself back my computer! ;D

Hint…Hint…:3


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Can't you feel that love is in the air? Can't you see we're dancing everywhere? Now I know why my heart is blue, I feel fine fine fine for you ^^

That's a new song I've been listening to ^^

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! WE MADE IT! WE GOTTA CELEBRATE! AND I THINK I KNOW THE PERFECT GIFT FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. FLUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! But not the kind you are expecting….muahahahaha.

*reaches forward with puppy eyes* Cookies? I want Cookies… ;^;

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When neither of the two moved, Olette grinned, a little nervously. "It's…a lot of people, actually." She said, chuckling under her breath as she spoke. "They came a little while ago. We figured just like last time that you would come up here, so they've been waiting for you guys. They're not really a talkative bunch…I ran out here to try and find you guys." It was obvious in her voice that she was relived in finding the two wandering around here.

Goofy and Donald exchanged glances, anxious and anticipation in their eyes as they stared at each other. Finally, Goofy spoke up, turning back around to the girl, who was waiting sort of impatiently. "What did these fellers look like?" Goofy asked, thoughtful. Goofy had seemed to be getting smarter by the minute, which was surprising for Donald's friend. Usually, it would take him a while to get out of an empty room. But nevertheless, the change was a good one, and a relieved one, considering Goofy getting more stupid wouldn't have helped their cause.

The brunette blinked, surprised by the suspicion in her friend's eyes as he looked at her. Usually, he seemed like the goofy one of the group. No pun intended, of course. It was usually Sora being the cautious one, but…where WAS he, anyway? He wasn't with them, and she had not seen him on her run through the town. Shaking it off, she figured that he was fine. "Oh, well…there were three of them." She started, looking down and counting off on her fingers as she went. "One was a lot older than the other two….I THINK. I couldn't really tell. He had blonde hair, and a long red scarf-thing…which is weird, because I think it's really hot out here."

She paused a moment, before going on. "…The other two were just like those people who took Kairi."

"The Organization?" Goofy and Donald yelled at once, eyes flying wide.

Wincing slightly, Olette tracked back, blustering. "I don't know!" She said quickly. "They had on Organization cloaks, just like the man that came by and took Kairi when she was here with us. But they didn't seem to be angry, they just wanted to wait for you guys to come. And then they didn't try to do anything, and we sat there for a long time. I had a decent conversation with them, actually…" She trailed off, green eyes confused as he turned her gaze onto the two. "Oh yeah, the first one was-"

"Take us to them!" Donald squawked, the duck withdrawing his weapon sharply, blue eyes blazing with undisguised fury. Goofy looked at Donald doubtfully, but he did not say anything, merely bringing out his own shield, a little more slowly than the duck had. Olette started, surprised. But at the duck's angered look, the girl nodded once, eyes glinting with fear by now as she turned. Walking much quicker than she had before, the girl started back the way she had come, eyes slightly wide as she did so. Goofy and Donald hurried behind her, Goofy's eyes slightly narrowed, while Donald looked fit to kill. The duck was obviously not thinking in front of his own…bill.

"Are they as bad as what you all told us?" Olette fretted, voice worried and slightly higher than usual. When the two didn't reply, she kept blabbing, hands wringing in front of her as she quickened her pace. "I left Hayner and Pence alone with them, who knows what's happened by now?" Their brisk walk was starting to catch the attention of the other people from the two who were milling about, adults and even young children casting them odd glances as they walked past. Olette seemed to not notice this fact, only increasing her pace into a run, Goofy and Donald finding no trouble in speeding up with her. "We have to get back before something happens to them!" She yelled, frantic by now.

Dropping back slightly, Goofy waited until Donald caught the movement, the two shortening their strides as they went to rush behind Olette. Leaning down with difficulty, Goofy spoke close to Donald, making sure that Olette did not hear him as he spoke. "Gawrsh." He mumbled. "Maybe we shouldn't have worried her so much like this…"

"We didn't do anything!" Donald snapped back in reply. "She just figured it out by herself!"

"It's not like we tried to change her mind." Goofy said softly. But he had to admit, waiting until it was too late for Olette to figure it out wasn't his favorite idea anyway. The thought of them getting back to the Usual Spot and finding…was not a good thought to finish. Hoping that they would get there in time, Goofy drew ahead of Donald once more, the duck letting out a sharp quack as he did the same. Following Olette, Goofy started to remember the roads of Twilight Town, and recognized the nearly-hidden alleyway where the Usual Spot resided. Well, it wasn't a so-called Alley, it was something more than that. But Goofy didn't bother to remember what it was.

Turning, Olette rushed through the ragged red curtain that hid the Usual Spot from other prying eyes. "STOP!" The girl yelled as soon as she stumbled clumsily through the curtain and into the small clearing inside. It was silent except for a small noise from the girl, Goofy and Donald looking down at each other with wide eyes. In sync, the two rushed after the brunette, weapons already raised and the two skidding to a stop in their battle stances. Even Goofy seemed to get over his recent reluctance, his shield already raised to be brought back down on the enemy with a blow that sent most heartless poofing away in a cloud of smoke.

But the two blinked, seeming confused by the scene that met them. Just as Olette was, the girl swinging her arms back down to her sides, face already dusting with bright red blush. Hayner and Pence blinked, eyeing the trio as if they had just sprouted wings and flew through the roof like it was butter. The three people Olette had mentioned were sitting together on the other side of the room, the older man looking at them with a touch of amusement in his eyes. The other sat silently, a hood drawn up to shroud his face away from both Donald and Goofy. The two would have been more weary from the stranger, if they had not seen the next person, the one that Olette had not mentioned, due to their sudden urge to run.

The person was short. Short being an understatement. It was probably as big as a four year old. And yet the beaming face and the large round ears could not be hidden in the person's cloak, and immediately, the two dropped their weapons with a clatter on the ground. "Your Majesty!" Goofy shouted, happiness and relief clear in his voice. Donald jumped a good foot in the air, surprise written across every feature. Goofy guessed that the duck had not anticipated finding the King so quickly. Dashing forward, Goofy threw out his arms, lunging forward and gathering the King tightly in a large embrace.

Mickey let out a surprised noise, eyes wide as Donald jumped forward, managing to get in the hug as well. "How did ya get here!" Goofy asked, questions spilling out of him like he was an open dam. "I thought it would take much longer to find you! Did you know we were lookin' for ya?" The thought would have made sense. It seemed like the King knew everything there was to know at times. But the mouse obviously hadn't known about Sora, otherwise he would have been here sooner. Goofy stomped away the flash of disappointment at the thought. He was here now. Soon they would find Sora and everything would be fine again.

"Alright! Alright!" Mickey managed to gulp in a breath through their tight hugging. "Put me down please!" Goofy started, dropping his King rapidly, hand shooting back up to his forehead in a salute. More out of habit than anything else. Donald shook himself, doing the same, blue eyes locked with the hooded figure that was still in front of them. It looked like he hadn't even moved, was he even alive? The thought was dashed as the man turned his head to look down at the King, hood still covering his face, hiding it from view. "…Your majesty?" Goofy prompted.

Mickey glanced back at the two others behind him, all humor fading from his expression as he turned back to Goofy and Donald. It was always a shock to watch as Mickey got serious, the King was never all that serious, unless something terrible was happening. Goofy flinched away from Mickey's serious gaze inwardly, coming out as a mere twitch outside of his mental thoughts. Donald looked as weary as he was, but both knew that this was in fact a deathly situation, so neither one of them dared to speak. "Goofy, Donald…" The King ducked his head, shoulders slumped as if there were a great weight rested on them. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." He managed, closing his eyes.

As if on a reaction, Goofy and Donald lurched forward, protests and assurances rushing out of them. Speaking together in different sentences, the pair's voice got mixed up together in a rushed, garbled string that was probably supposed to make Mickey feel better. The King's eyes widened, surprised and caught off-guard at the sudden string of objections. Donald and Goofy pushed each other in their effort to try and comfort him, the duck and dog pushing and shoving. Eventually, they turned and slapped at each other rapidly, eyes closing as they got into what looked like a small cat-fight.

"…I now see why Sora is friends with these people." The hooded person offered, looking down at Mickey with a trace of humor in his voice.

Mickey did not reply. Recovering himself, the King's eyes narrowed. "Donald! Goofy!" He snapped, the two immediately breaking away from one another in a pinch. The mouse looked at both of them critically. "Fighting with one another will not help anything." He said, more gently now. Blinking, he hesitated for a moment before speaking once more, trusting the two to stay silent. "It's true that I should have known more about Sora's disappearance. I should have thought more of it, instead of going after what I was thinking of before anything else. I…apologize. F-For leaving you guys before I knew the full story of what happened to him."

Goofy and Donald exchanged looks, sadness reflected in both of their eyes. Looking back at Mickey, Goofy smiled. "Aw, it's alright, your Majesty." Goofy said, eyes softer now than before. The King kept his gaze trained on the ground, listening silently as Goofy pressed on. "You know the full story now, that's all that counts. But, if you'll let me ask, how did you find out?" He paused, voice hopeful as he added. "You haven't seen Sora…have you?"

Mickey was shaking his head before Goofy could even finish. "No." He said simply, looking up from the ground and gesturing back at the two people behind him. "I was trying to find Ansem, you know that, right?" Goofy and Donald looked at the blonde man, who looked steadily back at them. They had found out about the 'Real Ansem' only a while ago, their expressions written with weariness as they faced him now. It was odd to look at the person now, after knowing what they had found out what seemed like eternities ago. But the man's eyes showed no hate, like the other man's did. They only showed deep wisdom, intelligence, and even a small glimmer of concern at the same time.

Mickey went on, glancing at their expressions with a small smile of understanding. What had he expected, anyway? "But it turns out I didn't need to find Ansem for too long before he came and found me. He told me about Sora…I was quite surprised." His voice grew slightly bitter. "He told me that you two would probably be trying your very hardest to get Sora back. And along with Riku, I figured that we all needed to go out and find you two." Looking gratefully at the group of teens standing around -looking quite shocked and confused- he added softer. "Thank you very much for helping us find them."

The others didn't get a chance to reply, before Donald cut in. His blue eyes were wide, and he stamped a foot down on the ground with a thud. Mickey eyed the movement, but did not speak, listening to Donald's shocked tone. "Riku!" The duck quacked out, looking around a little dramatically. "Where is he?" Goofy and Donald had been looking for Sora's friends for a long time. The fact that the King had gotten Sora's friend for him made both Donald and Goofy search the room with probing eyes. It was like they expected the boy to crash through the wall or something. Mickey blinked, realizing the slip he had made. Turning around, the mouse looked at the hooded figure apologetically.

Goofy caught the movement, reaching over and prodding Donald sharply. The duck hopped once more into the air, turning and glaring hotly at his friend. But Goofy pointed over to the hooded figure wordlessly, watching as the cloaked figure stood up. A small sigh came from underneath the hooded man's shelter, his hands reaching up and pulling down the hood rather reluctantly. Goofy and Donald both gasped sharply, eyes wide as they familiar face stood in front of them. Immediately, the two took a small step backwards, eyes growing anxious as they looked the form up and down crossly.

"It's alright." Mickey said, throwing his two hands in front of him almost in a surrender. "This is Riku, you gotta trust me. Riku uses this form in order to control the darkness around him, something he couldn't do in his regular form." The King flashed a smile at Riku. "He did it so that he could watch the Organization, which is why he was the first one to tell us about Sora. He told Ansem, and the two of them found me and passed on the news. It's thanks to him that we're all here."

Goofy and Donald blinked slowly at almost the same time, turning their gaze over to Riku questioningly. Riku's face was blank and apathetic, as if to disguise his true feelings. It was almost a lot like Donald. Goofy tilted his head, looking at Mickey, who had a large smile on his face, nodding slowly. "Why didn't ya tell Sora before?" Goofy asked finally, voice confused. Mickey's smile slowly fading at the dog's question.

Clearing his throat, Mickey clasped his hands behind his back, smiling sheepishly. "Riku had asked me not to tell Sora specifically." The mouse explained, smiling once again. "He wasn't sure at all how Sora would react to the way he looked now. Or if he would even recognize him. He was helping you along in your guys' journey, do you recall it? If I told Sora who he was, Sora might have forgotten the true task at hand. Or at least that was what Riku feared."

"Surely it wouldn't be that bad?" Donald asked, skeptical.

"I would not betray my friend's trust." Mickey said solemnly.

Silence spread over the room. Hayner opened his mouth to say something, but Olette leaned forward, shushing him at once. Grabbing his hand and Pence's, Olette turned back, tugging them out of their hideaway, glancing at the strangers as she did so. "Let's leave them to it." She whispered. "I feel like we're intruding here." Looking at them one last time, the three kids disappeared underneath the curtain, footsteps fading back into silence as they headed away from their spot.

Glancing over his shoulder, Goofy hesitated before looking back at Riku. Could it really be Sora's friend? What the King had said made sense, and Goofy could not object to the facts that all pointed to Riku having helped them along gradually. "Then what now?" The dog couldn't help asking. Mickey jerked at the question, almost like he had forgotten what he had come here for. At once, the King grew serious once more.

"We came back to find out what everybody else is doing." The King said, voice grim and eyes narrowed. "With Sora having been held with the Organization this long, it's obvious that he doesn't have much time left." Goofy flinched this time, showing it quite plainly. Donald looked over at his friend, just as nervous, but trying not to show it as much as he was. "Without the Keybearer, the worlds will fall out of balance, and darkness will rule over everything. Not only that, but Sora is our friend, and we aren't about to go and leave him to face this alone. Riku had told me what he's seen, and so far, it isn't looking good at all."

Goofy looked over at Riku, eyes glinting. It was clear that Sora's friend was itching to ask Riku what the boy was doing.

"Yuffie and Leon told us to bring you back to them once we found you." Donald explained, catching the King's attention. "They said that they would all want to be apart of the party that went to rescue Sora." He added after a pause, "And they didn't seem too quick to take no for an answer."

Mickey nodded once, straightening so that he was as tall as he could get. There was an air of authority around him, and his eyes glinted as he looked at his two faithful friends. "Good." He said firmly, voice still grim as before. "We'll need a good fighting force ready to take things over at once." Ansem smiled at this, the older man having no said one thing this whole time, just like Riku. But Riku's eyes were burning with fierce determination, the boy's feet shuffling on the ground, as if he didn't want to wait any longer.

Goofy and Donald were much the same way, hope beginning to creep back into their eyes almost reluctantly. As if they were not ready yet to think that it would work. Mickey sensed this. "We'll get Sora back before anything else happens to him, I promise." He vowed. "Now, I think you should take the lead." At their startled expressions, Mickey grinned once more, a little sliver of his seriousness evaporating at the sight of his friend's shocked looks. "Go on, we can all manage to fit into the Gummi Ship, I suppose?"

Recovering themselves, Goofy and Donald nodded stiffly, turning around and walking back out into the sunset-lit streets. Ansem filed out last, walking a little slower than the others. But once they were all out, Goofy and Donald made for the world exit, making sure that they were going the right way. Retracing their steps again, silence spread over the group like a thick blanket. Mickey broke the silence, voice sure and peppy once more. "I'm sure Sora will be just fine." He assured the people around him. "It will take more than a capture to get Sora down."

Goofy blinked, frowning with deep sadness as he walked on. Mickey was first of all, too short to see it, and second of all, he was behind Goofy, not able to catch his friend's change of expression. Whatever Riku had seen, whether he had caught sight of everything that had happened in Hollow Bastian or not, the boy must not have reported Goofy and Donald finding Sora for that brief and blissful moment. Riku must not have told Mickey that the two of them had nearly died, HAD died for a while. If Riku had said that Sora watched as his two friends died right in front of him, that might have changed the King's feelings.

Because right before Goofy had gone unconscious from the overwhelming pain of the lance being driven into his chest, HE had seen Sora's face. HE had seen the way the boy had reacted. Goofy felt his heart shatter all over again at the mental image. Mickey only knew half the story, really. Otherwise he would not have been so peppy and sure of his words.

Goofy closed his eyes, walking blindly for a moment as he screwed his eyes shut tightly. Mickey had not seen what he had seen, that was for sure. Mickey had not seen Sora's expression. A mixture of horror, terrible grief, and deadness all managing to find their way into the sea-blue eyes of his friend as he looked down at Goofy and Donald.

Mickey had not seen the boy break right in front of him.

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A/N: I'll give you all three guesses as to why I am ending it now.

DING DING DING! That's right, my sister's kicking me off. Again. ;^;

I'm soooo sorry! FLUFF SHALL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I REPEAT, FLUFF SHALL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! Hey, there's another reason to celebrate! Next chapter is indeed Chapter 20~! The big TWO-OH! :D Gotta be happy bout dat. ;3

…Yeah, this is my only way of ending it so that it's not a cliffhanger. If I failed, blame my sister.

…Again.

PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, AND I LOVE TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU, AND I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT I SAY THIS EVERY CHAPTER BECAUSE THAT IS JUST THE STRENGTH OF MY LUV. IT'S LIKE THE BURNING PASSION OF 1000 EASY BAKE OVENS! :I

…Review~! ^^


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I am back! Back with my cookies. :I

I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! T^T I feel bad now…

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Breath coming in harsh gasps, Sora's eyes were narrowed into angered slits, fighting to keep hold of his keyblade, which had become a lot heavier by now. Arms and legs aching, Sora blew out a huff of air quickly, rushing forward once again and raising his keyblade with an angered cry. The heartless were all pressing in on him, clattering of armor rising into a roar of noise around him. "This is it!" He yelled, blue eyes blazing as he swiped through a large clump of Shadows. Immediately, more heartless rushed forward to replace the ones lost, a Soldier lashing forward and swiping his claws across Sora's already injured leg, the boy letting out a sharp gasp as he nearly buckled down to the ground.

But he knew that if he did that, then all the heartless would swarm over him, and then he would never be able to get up. Bracing himself, Sora forced himself to put weight on it, one eye closed as he did so. Growling in pain, Sora turned, slashing through the heartless that had clawed his leg, watching with something close to despair as a single small heart floated up and away from the thing's body. Shaking it off, Sora whipped back around, glaring at the heartless around him with fury. The place was thinning out a little bit, it looked like more heartless had stopped coming. The thought was enough for Sora. He'd been in here for too long.

Managing to scrap together enough energy, Sora pushed himself into the air, sweeping back down into the heartless swarm, bashing through multiple heartless and leaving a small line behind him. Repeating the process, Sora fell to the ground heavily after a while, hunched over. Hands on his knees, Sora gasped for breath, unable to fill his lungs with enough air. Lifting his head, Sora blinked slowly, face a pinched look of pain. There were only a few more heartless left, heading straight for Sora, as if they could still stand a chance on their own.

Too sore to move anymore, Sora threw his keyblade spinning at the few stragglers that had managed to avoid his attack. Slamming into the last heartless, the keyblade made them all disappear in a flash, leaving only a few clouds to darkness to slowly fade away. Reaching out, Sora watched as the keyblade immediately flashed back into his hand, Sora tightening his grip on it out of habit. Pushing himself up with a wince, Sora surveyed the empty room around him, blue eyes landing on the door across the room from him.

Limp coming back in his leg, Sora flinched as he staggered over to the door, glancing back over his shoulder as he did so. The sight of the now-empty room made Sora sick to his stomach, the boy looking down at the ground sorrowfully. It wasn't like he had a choice anymore, though. If this was all he could do to help keep his friends alive, he would kill as many heartless as it took. He had messed up once, and for that, he knew that his two best friends were now dead. As the word wormed its way into his head, Sora closed his eyes tightly, lower lip trembling as he ducked his head. He could almost see the faces of his friends all looking back at him. Yuffie, Leon, Cid, Kairi. They were all resting on his shoulders. If he messed up, that would be that.

The door opening made him jerk back into reality. Looking back over at the door, Sora concentrated on not blinking as Luxord looked over the empty room critically. He wasn't about to show the fact that the Organization had fully won him over. Putting on a scowl of defiance, Sora glared at Luxord sharper than a knife, hand trembling as he fought to hold back the anger-filled attack he would have loved to unleash on the man.

Finally, Luxord sniffed disdainfully. "I suppose that'll be fine for now." He said stiffly, Sora twitching at the notion that what he did wouldn't be enough. But he managed to restrain himself as Luxord stepped into the room, the man reached forward and grabbing both of Sora's hands tighter than he had to. Sora flinched inwardly from the sharp pain that followed the tight grip. His wrists were still scarred from his run-in with the handcuffs, and the skin reacted like it was on fire from the harsh grab. But he did not say anything, one eye closed in pain as he was led out of the White Room in a shove. Feet scrambling over themselves, Sora tried to keep up with the quick pace Luxord had set, mind still a little fuzzy after his long fight with the heartless. The one of many, actually.

Sora burned with both anger and shame as Xigbar and Saix passed Luxord and Sora, probably on their way to a mission or something more important than walking around doing nothing. Xigbar snickered at the sight of Keybearer, while Saix looked at him blankly for a moment before turning away. Turning away from the two angrily, Sora ducked his head, trying not to let it show how much they irritated him. But, he realized, his glare melting away, he deserved it. He deserved everything they threw at him, he had been the one responsible for Goofy and Donald's death, and he was not going to forget that. He was going to hold it against himself until he died.

And that couldn't be far off by now.

After what seemed like forever, the two rounded the corner to where he was kept, Sora's face blank by now, wiped of all emotion. He was glad that Luxord was the one watching him now, for once. Sora had not seen Axel since the fight they had. The…weird…fight. If you could call it that. The thought made Sora remember the way Axel had said he had wanted to 'help' him. Had he been serious about that, or was it just something created by Xemnas to make him even more angry, if that was possible. Somehow, he didn't think that was true. But all the same, he couldn't fathom why Axel would want to help him. So far, all he has been was a small bug, getting under Sora's skin.

So all in all, Sora was not complaining from the recent break from the red-haired man.

Opening the door, Luxord was about to make Sora go inside, but the boy gritted his teeth together, snatching his hands away roughly. "I can do it by myself." He snarled, glaring daggers at the blonde Organization member. "You don't have to push me everywhere." Trying to hold at least one small shred of dignity, Sora whirled around, hunching his shoulders and stalking back into his prison, not glancing back behind him as the door shut with a click behind him.

Looking around at the empty room, Sora let his shoulders drop, as if under pressure. Eyeing the white walls around him, Sora suddenly felt jittery, unable to sit still and be confined in this place. The whole ordeal was making him claustrophobic, Sora rubbing both of his arms roughly in an attempt to banish the feeling away. Blowing out a huff of air in between his lips, he made a small buzzing noise, the sound seeming a lot louder than he would have anticipated. But still, it was better than doing nothing.

Walking over to the far wall, Sora flattened his back against the smooth surface, letting his legs go limp and he slid slowly down the wall, landing on the ground silently. Drawing his knees up to his chest, Sora let his head rest on his knees, bored eyes staring across the room and staring intently at the wall as if it were a lot more interesting than he made it out to be. Time went by, he didn't know how long exactly, but he knew it was enough for him to perfect his staring skills.

Pretty soon, Sora blinked, breaking the longest time he had gone without blinking. Muffled voices sounded muffled outside, the teen looking over slowly, changing it so that his cheek was resting on his knees. He stared at the door with a confused expression, trying to make out the words that were being said, eyes narrowing slowly in thought. But pretty soon, the voices stopped, and there was silence once more. Perking, Sora sat up fully, chin pink from the pressure he had put on it in the large span of time he had spent staring at the wall.

Reaching up, Sora rubbed the sore spot on his face rapidly, trying to look down on it even though he knew it was impossible. Shaking himself out, Sora was ready to stand up and move to a different spot, when suddenly the door opened, two figures filing inside, one after the other. Sora started, surprised by the sudden appearance, and he had to admit, he was caught off-guard. Watching with guarded curiosity, Sora twitched at the new people, hopes rushing down the toilet. Coincidentally, they were his least favorite people in this stupid place. Axel and Xaldin stood a ways away from one another, Sora had figured out a long time ago they pretty much hated each other. But that didn't explain why they were here. If they were here to watch him, they should have stayed outside the door. Sora preferred it that way, anyway. Then he wouldn't have to see either of them. Xaldin in particular.

"What do you two want?" Sora sighed, voice void of anger. It was hollow, as if he didn't have the energy to put emotion into the words anymore.

Before either of the two could reply, Luxord was back, opening the door again and sticking his head inside. "Xaldin." He called out, slightly surprised to see how many people were inside the small room. Sora sighed loudly and pointedly, dropping his knees and changing to sit cross-legged. Xaldin eyed the boy, as if expecting him to attack, but then looked over at Luxord after his beat of hesitation. The gamer jerked his head back behind him. "You and me are meant to go out to Twilight Town." The man explained. "The others are back from their mission, it's our turn to leave."

Xaldin turned over, looking at Axel expectantly. When the fire-wielding member shrugged his shoulders in a sort of surrender, Xaldin huffed, explaining thinly. "Xemnas said that you couldn't guard Sora without me." Xaldin snapped, bad-temperedly. "You can't be here without me supervising you." Axel deadpanned at this, obviously angered and irritated with Xaldin beyond words by now. Sora never knew this little detail, and the sides of his mouth twitched into a small smile. But he didn't let it get any farther, knowing it would only upset just about everyone here. Why WERE they here anyway? Any other time, and Sora would have yelled for them all to get out.

"I'll leave." Axel caved, rolling his eyes. "Just go on ahead, I'll see if I can find Saix and tell him to take over for me."

"Do that." Xaldin said firmly, turning around and walking back to the door. "If I come back and see that you didn't really leave, you'll be sure that Xemnas hears about this." With his back to Xemnas, Axel face Sora, making a face and moving his mouth up and down, mocking the unsuspecting member. Green eyes glimmering, he looked at Sora expectantly, almost like he was expecting a laugh from the teen. The keybearer just glowered at him in response, scooting away and making it clear that he was doing so. Axel's face fell slightly, but he still stayed where he was.

Xaldin eyed Axel for a moment or two, distrust and reluctance of leaving battling in his eyes. When Luxord cleared his throat impatiently, Xaldin sighed, shaking his head from side to side. "Fine." He relented, moving out of the way so that he could close the door. Hesitating a moment, he added, harsher this time. "You'd better leave soon, otherwise I'll figure it out." With that, he took a step back, slamming the door behind him. As their muffled footsteps got fainter and fainter, Axel crossed his arms over his chest, listening intently. Sora eyed the man with a weird look, glancing down at the ground and scooting away a little bit more.

Finally, the footsteps were inaudible, Axel's swung back down to his sides. "He's a ray of sunshine, isn't he?" Sora refused to say anything, looking up blankly. An awkward silence passed for a moment, Axel reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "And I guess you're a ray of sunshine today, too." He said weakly, green eyes flickering over to the side, almost like he didn't want to look at Sora directly.

"What do you want?" Sora sighed hollowly. "Come to yell at me some more?"

Axel straightened at this, green eyes flashing with something almost close to guilt. "Right…" He said, a low mumble as he looked over at the slumped figure of the keybearer. Once again, he was reminded of the way Sora had used to be, just managing not to wince away from the sight in front of him. "Actually, I came here to talk about that." He said, hissing awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. Sora blinked, a hint of interest sparking in the depths of his blue eyes as he studied Axel more carefully. Noticing the change, Axel drew up more courage, a faint smile playing on his mouth. "You see…sometimes I get out of hand with what I say…"

"You can say that again." Sora growled in response, shooting an irritated look at Axel.

The man stiffened at the accusation, but he shook it off as best he could. He deserved that one, he supposed. "Yeah, so if you'll just listen to me…" Axel trailed off, expecting Sora to cut him off with a sharp retort like: 'Doubt it' or 'Only in your dreams.' But Sora just looked at Axel with the new, dead look that he had adopted for his new expression. "I wanted to apologize." Axel blurted out, watching as Sora's expression did not change one bit. "I mean- it was really uncalled for, and I guess I just lost control of myself."

"Yeah, right." Sora mumbled, turning his head away and glaring away from Axel and over where two of the walls met into a small corner. "That's no excuse." There was no real objection in his voice, and Axel knew that he probably wouldn't get much of a reaction out of him at a time like this. But then again, on the way here, he had caught sight of Kingdom Hearts. He didn't really have much time at all anymore. He couldn't wait and sit by with his pride as he watched the whole thing go down anymore.

But there just wasn't anything he could do. When Sora did not look back at him, Axel sighed softly, giving up. "Fine." He said, voice thick with disappointment. "If that's not a good enough excuse for you, then I don't know what to do. It's my excuse, you just understand it." Sora still did not even flicker an eyelid, staring angrily at the wall, like he wanted to send it burning with flames. Shaking his head at the lost cause, Axel turned, sulking away back to the door.

He didn't want to waste any more time here than he could help. It wasn't like Xaldin would be back soon, but he knew that if he stayed here anyway, the man would surely find some way of finding that out. But as soon as his hand touched the door to push it open, he hesitated. Looking back over his shoulder, Axel locked his jaw back in determination. "Hey, Sora." Axel called, the boy hesitating a moment before he turned over, blue eyes showing faint irritation. At least it was an emotion. Holding out one hand, Axel watching as a small ball of fire sparked in his gloved palm, a light orange shade waving over Axel's face as he smiled. "Catch." He called out, Sora having no time at all to react before Axel threw the ball of flames straight for the boy.

Sora gasped sharply, closing his eyes as he braced himself against the pain that was going to shoot through him. He had been hit with fireballs before, and this was surely not going to be any different than all of those other times. But when nothing happened, Sora opened his eyes slowly, like an unprepared child. Blinking rapidly, Sora straightened, more out of confusion than anything else. Looking around, Sora couldn't see where the fireball had gone for a moment, but then he started, shock written all over his face. The small ball of flame was sitting comfortably in his lap, not burning him at all. It was just sitting there, snapping and popping in the now-silent room.

Sora turned to look back at Axel, eyes glinting with both accusation and confusion. A question burned on his lips, but Axel nodded to the small flame before he could say anything. Moving away from the door, Axel changed his position so that he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest loosely. Sora's forehead creased, turning back down to look questioningly at the small ball of light. Hesitantly, Sora reached out, touching the small blaze with one finger, snatching it back as soon as he did so. But it didn't burn him. It was like touching a small feather, actually. Eyes shining, Sora reached down, scooping the small ball up into his cupped hands, bringing it up closer to his face.

"See?" Axel asked, Sora looking over at him as he spoke. There was no anger in the boy's eyes now, something that Axel noted with faint relief. "I'm just like the element of fire. Obviously, that's why I can control it." When Sora did not say anything, he went on. "Fire is unexpected, it can be a raging thing of heat," Sora jerked, looking back at his hands as the element suddenly started to blaze, stinging his hand as the tips of the flame started to grow higher. Sora gasped, ready to drop the thing down onto the floor. But at once it went back to the almost-cool sensation, calming down so that it was more of a candle-light. "and sometimes it can be just the opposite." Axel finished, voice softer now.

Sora peered at the fire closely, blinking slowly. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked, confused.

"You said that wasn't a good enough apology. I figured I might as well explain it before you told me leave again." Axel shrugged one shoulder carelessly, green eyes flashing as he spoke. Sora fell silent, blue eyes mystified as he continued to look at the ball of fire. Then, a faint smile grew stronger across his face, the first genuine smile that Axel had seen in a long time. The boy slowly batted his hands up, the fireball bouncing into the air and lazily making its way down, almost like a snowflake would do. Sora batted it higher and higher until it grazed the ceiling, both Axel and Sora watching with amused expressions as it drifted back down to land squarely in Sora's hands. The boy's eyes were gleaming. And there was no mistaking the happy shine in Axel's eyes as well.

"I'll be going then." Axel said finally, turning around and gripping the doorknob.

"Hey, Axel." Sora spoke up, voice still blank. Blinking, the man turned around slowly, raising an eyebrow at Sora. The teen paused for a moment, staring at Axel intently, sizing him up. And then he smiled crookedly once more, throwing the fireball into the air once more. "Catch." He said, reaching out and slapping the end of the blazing ball of light. Axel watched as the fireball zoomed straight for him, the man snickering as he reached up, batting the ball back over to Sora. The boy was standing by now, having to lurch forward in time to bounce it back over at Axel.

"Don't let it touch the ground!" Sora yelled, blue eyes showing no trace of their anguish and hurt that had swamped the boy a good five minutes ago. Axel accepted the challenge with a look of concentration. Diving forward, Axel slapped the small candle-light back over to Sora, the boy more ready than he had been last time. Kicking out, Sora launched the thing back over to Axel, who gave a small hum in response. "Are you being a show-off now?" He asked, keeping the flame up as he bounced between his two hands.

Sora did not reply, stopping in his tracks and looking at Axel quizzically. Blue eyes slightly narrowed as he watched Axel keep the flame moving. It wasn't even something that he thought of as he stood up to slap the flame back to Axel. It was almost…natural. A feeling he would get if it were Goofy or Donald instead of Axel across from him. The thought of his friends made the familiar pang start once more in his chest, but Sora's mind was snapped out of it as Axel suddenly stopped bouncing the flame back and forth, looking over at Sora with a slightly mischievous glint in his green orbs.

Either Sora was crazy, or it was as natural to Axel as it was for Sora. Like the man wasn't even thinking as he faced Sora. But did it even matter? Wasn't it better than what Axel had been doing before? But that was just it…it was so…random. What had made Axel change so suddenly? Sora opened his mouth to ask, but Axel cut him off, his arms snapping out widely. Backing up slightly, Sora's frantic mind asked himself whether or not that whole thing was a setup, and that Axel was preparing to attack him. But instead of a large inferno spilling out from his outstretched hands, more and more of the small bubble-like flames spilled out lightly, drifting and bouncing around the room like little fireflies, glowing with the strength of little embers.

"Oh my gosh." Sora breathed out, blue eyes stretching wide. Reaching over, Sora prodded out, the flame in front of him melting away in a small puff of orange light. A smile stretching wide over his face, Sora forgot his limp immediately, hopping forward and swinging his arms through all of the fire-bubbles drifting around him. Axel looked on, an uncharacteristic gentle smile on his face. This was more like the keyblade bearer he knew. Childish. Maybe the exact opposite of Roxas, but did that matter?

Sora let out a small laugh, spinning and twisting in order to swipe through all of the small things bouncing around the room, making sure to leave nothing in his wake. Stopping, Sora looked over at Axel once more, blinking. The man didn't even try to wipe away the smile he had on his face when Sora met eyes with him. Reluctantly, hesitantly, Sora smiled back at him.

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A/N: DA FLUFFEH! LURVE IT! This is my thank-you gift for helping me get over the 200 review limit! :D

Do you think we can make it three hundred? O3o

I think we can.

Please review! My sister wants on, but I actually managed to finish it decently while she did so! So I think I'm getting better at this thing ;3

I was almost done when she wanted on, though~


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I have a SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EVERY SINGLE LITTLE PERSON OUT THERE! My friend Shattered1102 wanted to ask me to explain to you all her WONDERFUL stories are out and not getting a lot of reviews. She isn't begging for people to come and read her story, she's just wondering if you all out there could spend a moment and check out her stories, I'm sure that she would be grateful.

On another note, thank you for all of the reviews I got! They were considerably happier than all the other reviews I got for other chapters, which was what I wanted XD We're getting close to 250 reviews, and that's pretty cool considering it was like…two chapters ago we reached 200. So that's a good sign, right? :D

BTW: I like Goofy a LOT better than Donald. That's why there are no Donald POV's. But his feelings are described as well in Goofy's POV, so it doesn't really matter. I don't like Donald much because in the first KH game, literally ten seconds into battle, he would die. I got SOOO mad. :I

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Goofy and Donald had to restrain themselves from pelting all the way back to Merlin's house, managing to match paces with Ansem and…Riku. Goofy had to mentally scold himself for nearly calling the boy that same name as the blonde man. But he couldn't really blame himself, could he? It was like a reflex, something that you had to control mindfully before you acted. Or in his case, thought. He wasn't even at all understanding what had happened to Sora's friend, and yet the boy had not tried anything yet, so it must have been true. Riku blinked, starting to turn over to look back at Goofy, the dog immediately averting his eyes rapidly.

They were all marching down the steps in a neat group, walking down to the town square. They were all met once more with the now-being-renovated square, the ground still charred and everything inside it burned as well. Far beyond repair, it seemed. Startled gasps came from both Riku and the King, Ansem's eyes narrowing as his eyes swept the blackened bricks. "What happened here?" The King asked, eyes wide open as he looked with faint disbelief around him. There was also exasperation in his eyes, as if he was ready to snap in figuring out that yet another thing had happened without him there to protect the world. After all, he was King. Shouldn't he be there all the time when Sora could not?

"Well, ya see, we aren't very sure." Goofy hedged out, looking back at the group carefully.

Donald voiced his thoughts. "We're pretty sure it was Sora!" The duck exclaimed, blue eyes locking with Ansem's, as if daring the man to challenge the theory. Mickey looked skeptical, eyeing Donald with his arms crossing over his chest. Which reminded Goofy yet again that the King had no idea about Sora's less-than-recent escape back here to Hollow Bastian. Should he let Yuffie explain, or just tell the tale right now? Looking down at Donald with a clueless expression, Goofy waited for the duck to give some signal to assure him telling it right now would be the very best thing. But Donald looked at him from the corner of his blue eyes, head shaking just a small millimeter, enough for Goofy to get the message.

So he ignored the King as he started to ask a question about their explanation, turning around and making his way across the burned cobblestones, barley looking around him at the wreckage. When Donald followed, Mickey jumped, looking a little flustered as he quickened his pace to catch up to them. Riku eyed the space around him with a glint of understanding, reminding the two junior heroes that he must had seen Sora perform this magic attack. If it had been Sora at all. Sora's magic was good, but not this good. Not even close. Goofy made a mental note in his cluttered brain to ask Riku about it before he could forget about it.

Going down another flight of stairs -just managing to slip past Uncle Scrooge- the group rounded the corner, coming to stand in front of Merlin's house. For once, Goofy met the sight without a feeling of disappointment, knowing for sure that Yuffie would be relieved to find the new addition to their team. The girl had been frantic before now, and having both the King and Ansem himself there to aid them, things were surely going to be much better. After a beat of silence, Donald called out to the house, which looked empty for once. Had everybody left to their own houses? Goofy had to admit, he had thought that it would have taken longer to find Mickey himself. "Hello!" Donald called out, cupping his hands over his mouth as he yelled for their friends. "Is anybody home?"

Letting his arms fall back to his sides, Donald blinked, confused as he looked over his shoulder at the three people waiting, eyes worried. But he didn't have to wait any longer before the door opened, Yuffie's head popping out with a slightly confused look. As her eyes landed on Goofy and Donald, it took a moment for the whole scene to register in her head, the girl blinking slowly at the group gathered in front of Merlin's house. Then, intelligence flooded back into her eyes, the girl smiling with disbelief and happiness at the sight. "Oh my gosh!" She fumbled, looking like her old self as she scrambled outside. "T-This is great! You got everybody…" She paused a moment, face falling somewhat. "…Who are these people?" She finally asked, indicating with her finger to Riku and Ansem.

Others streamed out of the house to stand beside her. Merlin, Leon, Aerith, and Cid. Nobody had left after all. "Oh…well…" Goofy blinked, unsure as he pointed over to Riku. "This is Riku…" Yuffie started at the introduction, as well did everybody around her. Obviously they were surprised. After hearing Sora talk on and on about Riku, Goofy and Donald had managed to find him on their own. At least that was what Goofy had thought they were thinking about. Before they all started to talk.

"Oh…" Yuffie said, a weak smile twitching over her lips as she looked Riku up and down.

"Right." Leon murmured, blinking. Yuffie shot the man a glare, cheeks puffed out.

"Sorry, it's just…" Aerith trailed off, covering her mouth as if she had not meant to let the sentence out.

"I didn't think he'd look like that!" Cid blurted out what everybody wasn't saying. Immediately, all three turned to look at Cid with sharp glares. The man threw his arms out in front of him, almost like a surrender. "What!" He exclaimed, voice growing a pitch. "Don't tell me you all weren't thinking the same thing!"

"Yeah, but we had the sense to keep our mouths SHUT." Yuffie snapped, looking back at Riku carefully.

"This isn't what he looks like." Goofy explained, a little confused on the idea himself. At the confused expressions on crowd in front of him, the dog went into explanation. "He looks this way so that he can control the darkness, just like the Organization can! He's been watchin Sora and he's the one that actually found Mickey and told him about Sora. Without Riku, we would still be lookin for the King." Riku flashed him a grateful look, and Goofy realized that it wouldn't be all that hard to get used to him. After all, he was Sora's friend. That made him Goofy's friend in turn; he was sure that Donald would think the same.

"Oh." Yuffie looked over at Riku with a renewed sense of understanding. "That makes more sense." Pausing a moment, she added, her voice turning anxious. "So you've been watching Sora?" She prompted, Riku hesitating before nodding. "Is he okay?" Yuffie demanded, eyes wide and earnest. "How is he? What's going on there?"

Riku blinked rapidly, eyeing the girl's begging expression. Looking over at Goofy, he stuttered a moment. "Y-You never introduced him!" Riku said in a rushed voice, side-stepping away from the now-disappointed Yuffie and going over to stand next to Ansem. Looking at the girl's crushed expression, he couldn't help but feel a small pang of regret. But he knew his guilt would be much worse off if he had answered her nagging questions. He wasn't about to share everything with the others yet, they were obviously worried enough. He hadn't even told the King everything, something that made him avoid Mickey's eyes nonchalantly.

"Oh! Right!" Goofy said, shaking his head back and forth rapidly. Pausing for a moment, he looked confused, as if not sure how to say that they had brought the real Ansem with them. Mickey caught Goofy's confused state, ducking his head in a small nod as he closed his eyes softly.

"I can introduce him." Mickey said, saving his friend the trouble. Goofy gave a relieved smile, blowing out a sigh as he relaxed his shoulders. Donald eyed his pal, but said nothing, a small smile on his face. "Alright, everybody." The King said firmly, eyes narrowed. "This might take a little bit of explaining, so just let me talk…"

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Sora couldn't believe his sudden stroke of luck! His magic was actually working now! Sora stared at the tip of his keyblade with a large smile, watching a small little lightening bolt flashing bigger and bigger, and then smaller when he wanted it to do so. It was like large weight off of his shoulders, making a small light feeling in Sora's chest that he hadn't felt ever since Axel had left. The thought made him lose his concentration, Sora blinking as he let his keyblade disappear from his hand.

Looking thoughtfully across the room, Sora gave a small sigh to the empty room, looking around aimlessly. The man still confused him, no matter what had happened before now. Sora had acted like it came natural for him, the thought making him feel…off. Axel was his enemy, he was the person that had distracted the others as the rest of the Organization swooped in and carted Sora off against his will. He had to have been one of the people holding Beast down from the tape recorder, and he had been the one to nearly kill Sora when the two were fighting.

But Sora supposed he couldn't really blame him for the last one. After all, Sora had nearly killed him too. And now…he regretted it. The thought would have alarmed him before, but a warm feeling was stirring inside his chest, a feeling that Sora would have gotten by looking at any one of his friends. And he realized that he missed Axel. He missed Axel and wanted him to come back so that the room would stop pressing in on Sora. Looking at the door, Sora blinked slowly, swallowing a small lump in his throat as his eyes flickered back and forth, as if expecting somebody to come out and jump at him.

Taking in a deep breath, Sora started forward, on his toes as he walked forward slowly. Biting his lip, Sora crept closer and closer to the door until he was standing in front of it. Hesitating a moment, Sora reached out slowly, touching the doorknob for a millisecond before he snatched his hand away, like it was on fire. But nothing happened to the movement he had made, no wail of an alarm, and no flashing lights. Wincing, Sora reached forward again, twisting the doorknob and opening the door so that he could peer inside through a small crack. The hallway was empty, nobody milling around along the long white space. Sora didn't even think there was anybody standing by his door. Which was weird.

Knowing it wasn't a very good idea in the first place, Sora opened the door a little bit more, blinking as he craned his neck to inch his head out little by little. When he finally managed to have his whole head outside the door, Sora turned, looking both ways down each end of the hall. It was completely empty. The boy was confused, an odd expression plastered over his face as he glanced back over his shoulder at the small room behind him. Right when he was mustered up the courage to take a step outside, a sudden noise made Sora jump, fear washing over him.

Before he could look back to see what it was, Sora was shoved back inside rather roughly, the boy only managing to hold his footing as his arms stuck out at his sides, going in short circles as he staggered. Blue eyes flashing, Sora straightened, opening his mouth and starting out a sharp retort to the person who had pushed him. The door slammed shut, faster then the keybearer could get a good look at the person in question, Sora letting out a cross huff as his face soured.

But then his face slowly fell, a small sense of fear wriggling its way inside him. If that was Xaldin, he would have been dead already, right? Or what if he was going to get Xemnas? But that wasn't fair! All Sora was trying to do was figuring out why it was so quiet out there! And…maybe to see where Axel was…he shoved the thought away angrily. Why would HE care where Axel got himself? He didn't. At all. Axel could come and go any time he wanted. It didn't make a difference to Sora. He could go and-

Suddenly the door flew open again, Sora jumping backwards, shock written on his face by the sudden movement. Axel stood in the doorway, looking at Sora with a slightly disappointed look. "Really, I would have thought you wouldn't be stupid like that, I guess I was wrong." His tone was dry, but Sora could somehow tell he wasn't all that mad. Sora looked the man up and down, confusion threatening to overwhelm him by now. How did he know how to read this person so clearly so quickly? It made no sense. Axel went on, either ignoring Sora's new look, or sweeping on without asking about it. "Come on, I'm taking a risk for you, and we can only do it right now. So come on."

Without waiting for Sora to say anything, Axel stooped down, gripping Sora's hand in his own tightly and pulling him outside the room into the hallway. Sora let out a confused noise, eyes wide with anxiousness, casting glances back over his shoulder as Axel rushed down the hall with Sora in tow. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea! Heart banging painfully against his ribcage, Sora tried to focus on watching his back and keeping pace with Axel at the same time, Sora even making more noise as he stumbled clumsily behind the fast-moving Organization member. "Slow down!" He hissed in a strained whispered, voice tight with panic.

If Xemnas or any single other person saw them, they would both be dead. It wasn't even a question. Sora's expression of shock melted into thick anger, the boy glaring at the back of Axel's head as he managed to scramble behind him. This was suicide! "Axel!" He hissed, barley able to hear his own voice over their footsteps. And he would bet that Xemnas would be able to hear their footsteps as well, and sooner or later, he was going to come after them. "Axel, please!" Sora's voice had pitched somewhat, in a desperate plea. "Stop!"

"We're almost there!" Axel assured, being just as silent. But being silent wasn't enough to cover Sora's own loud walking. His limp was giving his trouble as always, pain shooting up through Sora's ankle every awkward step he took. No amount of stealth could cover that, and they had been running for a while now. Long enough for Sora to become lost. He had no idea where he was, and if he had to race back to his room, it would probably take him a good ten minutes to do so. But Axel did not listen to him…again.

It was long time before they finally turned sharply to a door, having gone up flights of stairs and through long white halls. It seemed like everything was white here. Sora was gasping for air by the time they skidded to a stop, Axel opening the door in front of them and looking down at Sora with a small grin. The boy shot him a fierce look of anger. "I hope you're happy." He growled, still speaking in a harsh undertone. "Xemnas probably heard all of that, and now he'll be all over the place, not to mention every single Organization member around here!"

Axel rolled his eyes carelessly, reaching over and pushing Sora through the door, causing the boy to stumble and grab the first thing he could to hold his balance. It was a railing, something that was wet and slippery, nearly making him fall back to the ground. Perking Sora straightened, still holding onto the railing as tight as he could, freezing where he stood. Blue eyes were filled with wonder, and Sora felt a small smile tug on the edges of his lips, despite the recent anger he had been swarmed with. Axel let out a hum of satisfaction, almost lost on Sora as the teen looked around him with wide eyes.

Usually, rain was pouring around the abandoned city beneath the castle, adding to the dreary feel to the whole place. But now it wasn't sheets of freezing water, it was snow. A little flakes mixed in with the usual precipitation that fell around here, slush making large dark clumps on the ground. But it was undeniably snow that was falling from the sky and down to the barren place below. For a moment, Sora just stared at the sight, a ghost of a smile fighting its way over his face. But finally, he snapped out of it. The danger of the situation overcame his shock, and he turned around to look critically at Axel. "We'll be in big trouble if we're caught." He snapped, blue eyes shadowed with worry. "I can't…I can't AFFORD another mess-up like this, Axel." His voice came out more whiney than he had meant it to.

"Don't worry." Axel soothed, glancing behind him before shutting the door. "I made sure that everybody was doing something else than just standing around. Xaldin was off with Luxord playing Poker. And Sora, when those two start something, it lasts until the end of time." Sora blinked, still unsure as he watched Axel come to stand beside him, one hand reaching up to rub his shoulder. He looked down at the empty street below, neon signs lighting up the snow as it landed on the ground, melting away in an instant. They were a lot higher up that Sora anticipated, the ground a dizzying drop with nothing to hang on to in order to climb down. The thought flew through Sora's head, even when he knew that he wouldn't try to leave a second time. He wouldn't make such a big mistake ever again. Not if he could help it.

Axel seemed to guess the thoughts, green eyes flickering over to Sora, more sad than before. "Sora, you know…" He trailed off, looking a little lost, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't. Sora raised eyes to meet Axel's for a heartbeat before they flickered back over to the snow. Even though there wasn't a lot of it, was something else to look at. Axel followed his gaze, leaning against the railing of the small balcony with a huff. "…This doesn't happen all that often." He said, breaking the silence. "I…thought you might have wanted to see it before it stopped."

"…It's been longer than I thought." Sora whispered, looking at the snow with a renewed sense of sadness. Axel perked, turning so that he was facing Sora, a question in his eyes. The keybearer refused to meet the green eyes that were boring into him. Closing his eyes, Sora added softer than before, "I didn't know I had been here for so long. It was just starting to get cold when I came here." His voice broke slightly at the last word, saying the last bit like he had left his friends willingly. Axel blinked, caught off-guard by the change in the boy. Green eyes filled with guilt, Axel gave a small sigh.

"Sora…I'm sorry." He said, refusing to look at Sora. It was like they were playing a game to see how long they could go without looking at one another. But the words were enough to make Sora come out of his trance of sadness, looking a little startled as he straightened. Axel went on, not even looking to see if Sora was listening or following at all. "I figured I might as well say it, even if you don't want to hear it. …Actually, I understand if you don't want to listen."

DID he want to listen? No, he just wanted to get back to his room before Xemnas had noticed his absence. The thought made Sora bristle inwardly, realizing that before now, he would have jumped at the chance to get out of that stuffy place. Had he been changed so much that he would rather have stayed back out of fear? He shivered, and Sora hoped that it was just from the freezing air out here. "…Let's just go back." Sora pressed, for probably the millionth time in the last minute. Looking over at the door, Sora wished it had a window. He would have liked to see down the hall.

"Sora, why don't you trust me?" Axel asked bluntly, looking over at him.

That was stupid question! "I just want to go back." Sora pleaded once more, voice growing heavier. Why WOULD he trust Axel? All he did was throw stuff all around Sora's room, that didn't mean that Sora immediately loved him! HE had brought him here! HE had made sure that Sora wouldn't be able to escape! Apart from that, he was confusing, irritating, and a secret-keeping obnoxious person. Sora opened his mouth, ready to voice his complaints, when Axel stopped Sora dead, standing there with his mouth open like an idiot.

"Roxas was my best friend." Axel started, ducking his head low as he closed his eyes. Sora blinked, snapping his mouth closed and becoming silent as he stared at Axel with disbelief. Was he man actually telling him the secret he had kept for so long? Why? But he didn't say anything, listening with wide sea-blue orbs. "He was the only really SANE person in the Organization, and everyday we would go up to the Clock Tower in Twilight Town and have ice cream together. It took a while to finally make him even start talking, at first. I thought I would never get him to say a word to me. Not really sociable when he first came here. But…he was the special one in the whole group. He was special…because he had the Keyblade."

Sora stiffened at this, wanting to take a step back, but unable to, considering they were on a balcony. How could he have a keyblade? That would mean that he was a Nobody of a keyblade wielder! Summoning up scraps of his memory, Sora remembered what the boy had looked like, if that was even him. But, he had seemed real…and familiar, too.

"His weapon unlocked hearts of the Heartless, just like any other keyblade. That meant he was essential to the Organization. But…from the very start, I had known that he was different than anybody else. He couldn't cope with the fact that he was Nobody, he couldn't cope with the fact that…he would merge with the person who really DID have a heart, become a part of them." Looking over at Sora, it looked as though Axel was checking to see if Sora was confused or not. But the boy was managing to keep up, just like he had when Axel was lugging him down the hall. "He ran away from the Organization, became detached from it. It was hard to see him go…h-he made me feel…like I actually did have a heart."

Axel stopped talking for a moment, gazing across the horizon distantly, as if he were seeing something Sora could not. After a beat too long of silence, Sora ripped it apart, curiosity getting the better of him. "What happened to Roxas?" Sora asked, tightening his grip somewhat on the railing. Roxas's words echoed in his head eerily. 'If I find the exit before you, maybe I'll be my own person.' Confusing as it was, hopefully Axel would give him a little light to shed across things, making them a bit clearer.

"He couldn't run forever, and eventually, he had no choice. He merged with his true person, and…now he's gone forever." Silence once more, only this time, Sora could respect this silence. Hurt and grief were mingling in Axel's green depths, and Sora's heart ached himself, thinking back to Goofy and Donald. He could at least relate to something with Axel, now. Ironic. But it seemed as though Axel was not finished. "For Roxas to have been able to use the keyblade, he had to have been the Nobody of a keyblade wielder, you figured that much, right?"

Sora nodded, not THAT stupid.

"…Roxas…was YOUR Nobody…Sora." Axel said, words dragged out of him like thorns.

Sora froze, eyes wide. No…that wasn't possible. It couldn't be true, Axel was just joking with him, trying to scare him. But the anguish written on the man's face said everything he hadn't, and Sora felt sick to his stomach as he realized that it could be nothing but the truth. "T-That's not right." He objected, nervous laughter bubbling up from his throat. "I mean, I didn't…" He trailed off, wincing. "I mean- not for long…" Words tumbled out of his mouth, rapid and incessant. "Roxas couldn't have been…"

"He was your Nobody." Axel said firmly. "Now you know."

Yes, Sora knew now. The way him and Roxas looked so similar. The way Axel seemed to grow sad whenever he looked at him. The way that Axel seemed to lose a bit of spirit when Sora glared at him in anger. The way he didn't like to see the keyblade bearer in pain. "That means…you only care about me…because of him." Sora said finally, looking up to Axel with narrowing eyes. Was that the only reason Axel bothered to pay attention to him? Why Axel had come to cheer him up? Just because of Roxas?

"No. That's not true." Axel said, almost yelling. As Sora blinked at the volume, he sighed, lowering it a little reluctantly. "At first…I'm not going to lie. At first I wanted to help you just because of him. But now I know for a fact you don't belong here." Pausing, Axel stared at Sora for a long beat of silence before finally speaking. "…I want to help you out of here, Sora."

Sora brightened at once, blue eyes blazing as he smiled. "Really!"

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut, eyes growing wide as he heard footsteps behind the door. Sora heard it as well, happiness streaming away in less than a second to be replaced by horror. Catching the new look, Axel narrowed his eyes, thinking a mile a minute as he looked from Sora to the door. "Wait there." He hissed, walking back the few strides it took to the door. Peering out slowly, Axel scanned the hallway. There was nobody in sight. Looking back at Sora, he nodded, the boy walking closer to him, eyes nervous beyond words. "Alright, we have to do this fast." Axel whispered, Sora hesitating before giving a tense nod. Waiting one more minute, Axel looked back and forth, nodding once before reaching back and grabbing Sora's hand again. Rushing out of the door, Axel dragged Sora behind him like a kite. Tripping and stumbling, Sora rushed after him, keeping his eyes on Axel's in his attempt to keep in strides with him.

The figure watched from the shadows as the two rushed away from the balcony, hood drawn up and covering his face. Observing with a dark look in his eye, the figure stood still, stiff with shock and anger. Watching the two round the corner and disappear, a small smile wormed its way to his face. It was twisted smile, promising nothing but consequence. After all, punishment was always in order for those who bent the rules whenever they felt like it.

"Oh, Xemnas." The man sighed. "Do I have a story to tell you."

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A/N: It is time I took my leave ;^;

PLEASE review! I feel really proud about this chapter. For…some…reason.

It wasn't a cliffhanger with Mickey, I just didn't feel like typing the whole spiel about Ansem actually being good, and Riku bein all bad form Ansem…because, I didn't really get it the first time around. I was playing the game all happy and content, and then THAT cut scene came up and I was just like: "…Wtf just happened here?" And then I had to ride that STUPID light cycle, you do NOT want to hear how that goes.

So anyway, yeah! Creepy people watching you in the dark! GOTTA love that…

REVIEW A WHOLE BUNCHEY BUNCHES AND I SHALL UPDATE QUICKER THAN YOU CAN SAY: SANDFIRE KAT DOES NOT SUPPORT AXEL AND SORA, SO FORGIVE HER IF IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT UP THERE! :D *points up to the chapter* Just wanted to…clear that….up…o-o


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: And now for a little story for marching band that sort of relates to this story: I was walking through the halls with my trumpet and stand in either hand, and then this guy came up to me from the trombone section. He says hello to me, and I turn and smile back at him politely. He says, "You were just like your sister when she came here. You're quiet." And I opened my mouth to apologize (Social awkwardness XD) but then he said something that cut me off. "It's alright. When I'm through with you, you'll be crazy just like the rest of us." He then continued to smile creepily. "I'll BREAK you."

…I was soooo freaked out, man! XD

_Thoughts~_

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The man walked through the halls, head tilted up in an almost arrogant way of expression. His hands were clasped casually behind his back, and yet the glimmer of oncoming amusement was not to go unnoticed to those passing him. Saix eyed him as he walked by, stopping as he looked back over his shoulders, expression quizzical. "What are you up to, Xaldin?" He questioned, voice laced with suspicion as he spoke. But Xaldin did not stop to answer, simply ignoring the fellow Organization member. He barely even looked back as he kept his stride down the hall.

Gaze hardening, Saix shook his head roughly, turning around and trailing after Xaldin. "Seriously, Xaldin, where are you going?" He asked, eyeing the man's odd expression. Recognizing the way that led to Xemnas's study, Saix flared at once, gritting his teeth together. "You know you shouldn't bother Xemnas! Not now!" When Xaldin still refuse to look at him, he sighed, continuing to press. "You're going to get into trouble, Xaldin. At a time like this, you should only bother Xemnas if somebody is dying."

Xaldin laughed at the statement, finally coming to a stop in front of Xemnas's door. It had just been fixed, after the cat Pete had knocked it down rather rudely. The other Organization members had been told to watch out for the cat by now, and yet the two -the witch and the cat- had almost never come out of their rooms. Just for situations like when they needed to talk to Xemnas, or when the witch lost her temper like a few days ago. Glancing back at Saix, Xaldin grinned a toothy snarl. "Somebody will." He promised, Saix blinking with surprise at the odd statement.

Opening the door, Xaldin strode inside the room, Saix jumping as he followed him inside. Curiosity got the best of him, and Xaldin didn't seem to show any sign that he wanted him to leave. Xemnas looked up, momentarily caught off-guard by the appearance of the two. Then his eyes hardened, looking expectantly forward. "What is it?" The Superior demanded, one eyebrow raised. It was not an understatement to say that he looked irritated. And Xaldin was sure that this would only bring more anger onto the man.

"We have a traitor in our midst." Xaldin said thinly, eyes narrowing.

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Xemnas stalked down the hallway, eyes narrowed into raging slits as his footsteps made almost-deafening thuds on the ground. Saix and Xaldin walked behind him, Saix's face still showing the shock he had felt at the sudden news of Axel and Sora. But Xaldin looked pleased with himself once more, even more arrogant and obnoxious than he usually was, and that was saying something. Flashing the man a reproachful look, Saix snapped over at him in a small undertone, hoping Xemnas wouldn't hear. "I hope you're right about this." He flashed sharply. "What if it was something else entirely? Sora escaping for a moment and Axel dragging him back to his room?"

"Stand up for him as much as you wish." Xaldin growled back in a whisper. "I know what I saw, and I know what I heard. Axel is a traitor and a danger to the Organization in being here." He raised his voice slightly, so that Xemnas would be able to hear his next words. "Mark my words, Axel wants to help free Sora from here. He's trying to help the brat escape. He could put a damper on all of our plans and make it all for nothing, do you want that, Saix?"

Saix was lost for words, fuming as he looked away from Xaldin. He just couldn't believe that Axel had tried to help Sora escape, it didn't seem like anything he would do. Whether or not Xaldin was lying out of spite for the man, they would have to find out soon enough. Thinking of that, Saix almost crashed into the Superior, Xemnas having stopped abruptly, stiff as wood. Leaning around the leader of the Organization, Saix saw Axel strolling down the hall lazily, as if he had nowhere to go. Just walking aimlessly out of boredom. He looked completely casual, not at all fazed by anything. He looked surprised as he saw all the others looking at him strangely, blinking rapidly as he came to a slow stop. "…Hello?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Axel." Xemnas growled through clenched teeth. It was like he was restraining himself from leaping at Axel right then and there. "Xaldin tells me that you let Sora out of his room without permission. That you told him you would help him escape." Axel blinked at this, but remained to look calm as ever, face blank as Xemnas went on. "You do realize that if that is indeed correct, you will be severely punished. The Organization doesn't have room in it for traitors and liars."

Axel paused a moment, shrugging his shoulders as he just brushed it off. "I didn't do anything like that." He said, voice level. "Xaldin must be seeing things, feeling a little under the weather?" He shot a dangerous glare over at the lance-wielder, eyes burning chips of flint. Xaldin returned the harsh look, tension cracking like lightening between the two. Shaking his head, he looked back to Xemnas. "I didn't do anything like that."

"I told you!" Saix burst out, fuming as he whipped around to Xaldin. "Sora probably got out on his own, that's what made you think what you did! Axel was just taking him back to his room, right Axel?" He looked back to the man with an expectant look. He never was friends with Axel, but the whole ordeal sounded ridiculous every which way. If Sora was back inside the room, what did it matter, anyway? Axel opened his mouth to reply, eyes flashing with worry by now, but stopped when Xemnas spoke first.

The man's eyes were still burning hotly at Axel, but his voice was strangely cool as he spoke. "We'll see which story Sora believes." The man said, Axel straightening visually at his words. Catching the movement, Xemnas glared even fiercer at the man. "Either way, Sora tested us once again by leaving his room." Turning over to Saix, the man's eyes betrayed him as a spark of interest entered them. "I think it's time that we introduce Sora to her." He said, making it clear that it was order, and nothing else. Saix blinked, surprised.

"Already?"

"If Sora does not wish to corporate, then we will show him the consequences. Hopefully this will be the last time we do so." Looking back over to Axel, he added, more menacingly by now, "And he might be able to shed a little light on the subject, hmm?" Axel narrowed his green eyes slightly, but did not object to the man's words. Surely shooting a few more heartless at Sora wouldn't change the boy's standard. And no matter what, Axel wasn't about to confess to his actions. After all, if he wasn't here to be with Sora, the boy had no chance to getting out. He had to keep his mouth shut, for Sora's own sake.

When he did not speak up, Xemnas turned, nodding once at Saix. "Get her out, we'll bring him there for you." Hesitating for only a brief second, Saix dipped his head respectfully in a small nod, turning and straightening himself before going down the hall. Axel blinked, looking after the man rather anxiously. Where was he going? That wasn't the way to the room where Sora fought the heartless. He didn't have time to ask any questions, and they probably would have been shot down anyway. Brushing past him rudely, Xemnas continued down the hall, Xaldin snickering under his breath as he shoved past Axel, eyes filled with dark humor. Okay, something was going on, and it wasn't going to be good. At least that was what Axel could tell from his gut feeling.

Shaking himself, Axel rushed forward, catching up to Xemnas and arriving just in time to watch the man open the door. Thankfully, Sora had gotten over the shock and fear of almost being found out in the hall. The boy was sitting in the far corner of the room, perking up as the three filed inside the room. Axel flushed with fear as Sora's eyes flickered over to his, but he felt a wave of relief as the boy did not linger long enough for Xemnas to notice. Turning his gaze up on the Organization leader, Sora scrambled up to his feet, blue eyes lighting with confusion as he looked at the expectantly.

"Sora." Xemnas greeted, the man's voice giving Axel chills. But for Sora's surprising credit, he did not show the discomfort and fright he had shown with Axel, managing to hold the taller man's eyes steadily. Leaning down to look into Sora's sea-blue eyes, Xemnas repeated what he had said before to Axel, though a little differently. "There's been a sudden issue that's been brought up to me." Sora didn't react, looking back blankly at the Superior. The man's gaze hardened. "Xaldin tells me that Axel tried to betray this Organization, is this correct?"

Sora did not even hesitate, not even glancing over at Axel. "No." He said voice perfectly steady.

Xemnas's lip curled up a little as he looked the boy up and down, eyes critical. "I think you're lying to me." He growled, voice dark and threatening. "Let it be known that if you lie to me, Sora, you will regret it immensely." When Sora refused to respond to the man's dark words, he seemed to grow even more angry, if it was even possible. "Very well." He snarled. "If you will not tell the truth, we will force it out of you."

Sora chose this terrible time to look over at Axel, eyes wide with fear. Catching the movement, Xemnas let out a loud roar of anger, weapon flashing into his hand before Sora's eyes. The boy stiffened, preparing to draw out his own weapon to make it a fair fight. But Xemnas was far too quick for Sora to try and defend himself against. The man slipped forward with odd grace, raising his hand up and crashing the handle of his Ethereal Blade right in the back of Sora's head. The boy gasped, pain spreading through him for only an instant before he fell to the ground, blackness crowding on his vision until he couldn't see anything anymore.

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A light dusting of snow lined the streets of Hollow Bastian, just enough of it to catch the sunlight and sparkle back at all of those looking down at it. It was like just a few stars had left the sky to settle down in the town, catching the light of the moon and twinkling on the earth around them all. Yuffie walked along the cobblestone pathway, observing the other townspeople, who were busy with their own life, bustling about with shopping bags crammed into their arms tightly. Mothers shushed their children, and the children in turn whined as loud as they could manage. It was just a normal day in the town, the thought making Yuffie smile gently to herself.

She had been the first to leave today, which was nearly the opposite of whatever else she usually did. She found more and more that she couldn't stay in Merlin's house for long anymore. In short, she just couldn't stay around Leon that much anymore. Even looking at the man made Yuffie bristle for some reason, and Yuffie in turn left whenever she could. Right now, her excuse was lunch. So she shook the nagging thoughts away from her head roughly, trying to think of a place she could stop by to get lunch. She usually had it with Aerith, who would cook for them all the time, but her friend had stayed back at the house today. Which left Yuffie alone today.

"Hey." Yuffie jumped nearly out of her skin, surprised by the sudden appearance of someone else. Whirling around, she relaxed after a moment, reminding herself of who this really was. She wasn't as alone as she had thought. Riku eyed her as he came forward, stopping to stand beside her. "So…going out for lunch, huh?" He asked, looking at her skeptically. Yuffie felt a twinge at the unfair accusation, but then she remembered she had been walking around for a good ten minutes doing nothing.

Deadpanning, the girl turned, tilting her chin so that her nose stuck up into the air defiantly. "I have no idea what you mean." She said flatly. Riku didn't reply except for a small snort of laughter. Whirling around, the girl glared hotly at the man, having to look up to do so. Which she wasn't a fan of. "What!" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You know, do you follow everybody around and watch them, or am I just the only exception?"

He was still laughing.

"What?" Yuffie asked, straightening now as her hands swung down to her sides.

"Nothing." Riku said, staring at her for a moment before he turned back to look across the town. "It's just that I think you're a lot like Sora." The words surprised Yuffie, making her mouth drop open slightly, blinking rapidly. For a moment, she didn't know what or how she should have responded, managing to close her mouth and look away, rubbing her arms as if she was suddenly cold. Riku glanced back at her, guilt shining in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He said, a little quieter now. "Leon told me you don't like to talk about it. I just forgot."

The mention of Leon made Yuffie flare up, the girl gritting her teeth tightly together as she straightened up. "Don't listen to anything he tells you." She growled, turning back to look at Riku crossly. "He doesn't know me at all, no matter how much he thinks he does." Riku seemed surprised and kind of awkward as he stared back at her, but Yuffie didn't care much. Instead, she tilted her head to the side, looking suddenly thoughtful. "Riku, did you say that you could control the darkness like that?" She asked, gesturing lamely to his black cloak that was usually only worn by Organization members.

"…Yes." Riku answered, tone giving away the fact that he was still fazed by her odd exclaim nation earlier.

"Why don't you just go to the castle right now and get Sora out of there?" The ninja demanded.

Riku sighed heavily at this, it was obvious that he had thought over that stage of the plan before. Actually, they had NO plan yet, which was why Yuffie had brought this up. Everybody else was still in the house, discussing possible strategies, but none of them had made it so far. A few of them had come close, those had been written down on Merlin's chalkboard to be returned to later. "Yuffie…that wouldn't be smart." Riku said, looking at the shorter girl almost apologetically. "We have to think this through. One of me against all five of them would not turn out very good."

"I could come with you." Yuffie volunteered immediately, gray eyes shimmering.

"Alright…two against five." Riku said, crushing Yuffie's hopes at the possible answer of a yes. The girl huffed, hunching over miserably as she glared up at Riku with difficulty. "It's just not smart." Riku said flatly. "Obviously they wouldn't be too keen on letting Sora go with just a fighting force of two people. With the others, we'll have nine people. Almost enough for two an Organization member. With those odds, it'll go a lot smoother, and we'll have a better fighting chance. We just have to wait a little longer." It was clear in the man's tone that he liked waiting just as much as Yuffie did.

Yuffie was ready to stalk off to whatever sorry place she was going to go eat at for lunch, when suddenly, she had an idea. Doubtful that it would work on somebody like Riku, she almost pushed it away. But it was better than nothing. Perking up, she clasped her hands behind her back, turning and walking slowly and dramatically away. "Oh well, then. Worth a shot." She said, tossing it over her shoulder. "I just would have thought you would care more about Sora to try and get him with me. I know I would do it, if I had the powers you had."

Riku gave a cross sound, eyes narrowing. "That's why you don't have them." He snapped. "You'd be too stupid to handle them right." Yuffie faltered in her footsteps, but then shook it off. Whatever he was going to call her, she might as well ignore it. After all, she was being rude too. But then again, her rudeness was for something, and not UNCALLED for. Stamping the thought into the ground, she remained to appear oblivious.

"I don't even think you have those powers." She said, stopping a ways away from Riku and throwing him a sharp look over one shoulder. "After all, you haven't used them ever since you came here. How do I know you're even Riku?" The man jerked backwards, as if he had slapped him. "I mean- you come here with these supposed 'powers' and just…CLAIM to be Sora's friend? I don't think so." Riku started to take angered steps towards her.

"Listen." He growled, looming over her threateningly. "I AM Sora's friend, no matter what you think." Jabbing a finger at her accusingly, he went on, voice scathing. "I know Sora a lot better than you do, and I would know for a fact that he would think it was stupid of us if we went to go try and be heroes of two people. The odds are against us, it would be SUICIDE, and I refuse to put you in danger over something so stupid! I don't even know why I'm still talking to you!"

"Maybe because you know I'm right?" Yuffie asked, dropping the act as she got on her toes, if only to appear a little bit taller. "I don't know about you, but I met Sora back when he was still an immature kid, and let me tell you, he talked about you A LOT." He was still immature, but Yuffie did not feel like adding that in. "He told me every single little thing about you and Kairi, frankly, he just wouldn't shut up. So I'm asking myself right now why the Riku that Sora talked about isn't here." At Riku's hot glare, she said flatly, "The Riku Sora told me about would NOT let him just sit there because 'The Odds Weren't On Our Side.'"

Riku blinked, face falling somewhat by this statement. Yuffie had gotten him. Pushing it a bit, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, leaning back somewhat. "So? Are you the Riku Sora told me about? Or are you just an imposter?" Gray eyes narrowed, Yuffie looked the man up and down, waiting for his answer. Finally, he seemed to snap out of it, looking at the ground thoughtfully, lost in whatever he was thinking about. Looking back up at her, Riku gave a small nod, Yuffie's face splitting open in a wide grin.

"Tell you what." Riku said, voice blank and face even more so. "I can take you there and we can see what's happening. If Sora is in immediate danger, we can TRY to save him, but if he's fine for the time being, we will come STRAIGHT BACK. Do you got that?" He looked at her like he was warning a little girl of five. Yuffie blinked, weighing her options. Finally, she decided that it was better than nothing, and looking in on Sora would put her mind at ease.

"Alright then." She said, gesturing to the side of her. "Lead the way."

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Sora's eyes flickered open, immediately closing in on themselves tightly, shying away from the rapid pain throbbing through his head. Through the fuzziness that was clouding his senses, Sora could hear yells and shouts, muffled, as if he were underwater. But the longer he lay still on the ground, he could feel his senses slowly coming back, making little sense of the shouts. He knew that word they were yelling…right? He knew it, that much was certain. But…what WERE they yelling? Clawing his way out of the cobweb-like feeling, Sora forced his eyes to open, despite the pounding in his head.

That was what was being yelled! His name. As blobs and colors slowly took form to real, moving things. Preparing to put himself up once more, Sora blinked, a fuzzy, confused look coming over his face as he looked down at his hands. They were bound together tightly, wrist-to-wrist, he was unable to move anything but his hands. "Wha…" Looking back slowly, Sora saw that he was restrained back as well. …Why?

Slowly, fear pulsed through him as he realized that something was wrong. Shaking himself, he forced his vision to clear faster, whirling back around and freezing at the sight. Wide eyes connected with those of a girl, who was also being held back at the other side of the room, twin gasps coming from both of them. The girl was no older than him, and it was clear she was just as frightened. If not a little bit more. Blue eyes met with blue, and Sora's breath caught in his throat like a thorn.

"Now, maybe we will get somewhere." A cool voice made him whirl around, Sora's eyes narrowing with a snarl as Xemnas strode into the room. Catching the look on the boy's face, the Superior smiled grimly. "I will not tolerate being lied to. You and I both know that I would trust the word of my members than somebody like you. So…where were we?"

"If you trust it so much, what do you need me for!" Sora yelled, anger clear in his voice.

"Because I want to hear you admit it." Xemnas growled, glaring down at Sora as if he had found a spider somewhere unpleasant. "You know, Sora, I had warned you plenty of times before this, you and I both know that as well, correct?" When the boy did not reply, the man went on, as if he did not need a reply. "So what makes me wonder….is why you would test us YET AGAIN." Going down so that he was level with Sora's own eyes, the man pressed. "Did you not believe us?"

"You touch her, and you're going to REGRET IT!" Sora yelled, launching himself forward in an attempt to lash out at Xemnas. But the man straightened, stepping backwards just a little, watching as Sora was yanked backwards at once, slipping with surprise and falling onto his side. Sora growled in pain, turning around and glaring at the things that held his hands together. If he wasn't being held back, he would surely make Xemnas regret everything he had done. But he guessed that it was the plan.

"Now. I'm going to ask you again." Xemnas said, walking across the room and standing beside the girl. Hand reaching out, his laser-like blade appeared in his hand, quick as a flash. "What exactly did Axel tell you back there?" Sora stiffened, looking desperately at the girl. Axel had promised to get him out of here, if he ratted him out now, he would have no chance. And yet that was a pretty small detail next to her. After a very long time…ages…he was finally looking at her, looking at the way she had changed, just like she probably was looking at him. They had finally met once more, and it was in this situation.

Sora gasped sharply as Xemnas lashed down, striking the girl across the cheek, a large gash showing the path the weapon had made across skin. The girl immediately cried out in pain, unable to try and move away from the touch in any way, shape, or form. Sora struggled, eyes wide and desperate. "KAIRI!" He screamed. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" He yelled sharply, eyes blazing with anger. Xemnas raised an eyebrow, almost like he was accepting a challenge. He struck Kairi again and again, Sora watching with a horrified expression.

Questions rang through his mind, and yet Sora was too numb to try and voice any of them. What did he do wrong? Why was Kairi here? How did he get out? Should he tell about Axel? Of course he should tell about Axel! "WAIT! OKAY! FINE!" Sora screamed, lunging forward again and again as if it might help his situation. It didn't, but that didn't matter. Xemnas stopped in his swings, looking at Sora expectantly. He seemed to be enjoying this, as if it were a television show that he was watching. The thought made Sora sick, and yet he managed to get around the lump in his throat enough to speak. "I'll tell you, just stop hurting her!"

Kairi looked stunned, eyes filled with pain and confusion. Her blue eyes searched Sora's own, and even through the distance that they shared, Sora felt that familiar sense warmth in his chest as they met eyes. And yet this time, it was accompanied this time with a sense of panic. The girl had taken large blows, bleeding and wounded badly. He had to fess up soon, no matter what happened to him afterwards. He didn't care if he never got out of here, Kairi was everything he had to protect right now. "If I tell you, will you let her go?" He asked, nearly pleading.

The Organization Leader smiled, "Of course." He said in response. Sora did not believe him. But he had to try. Taking in a breath, Sora opened his mouth to confess what had happened, but suddenly, his breath hitched, the key bearer choking on the breath he had taken in. Coughing, Sora tried again to speak, but the same thing happened to him once again. An all-too recognizable cold started to spread from his head to his feet, and Sora could swear that he saw a small shimmering in the air in front of him.

Slowly, Sora's eyes widened as a pale, translucent form appeared in front of him, Sora reeling as he recognized the blonde hair and penetrating blue eyes. It was Roxas! Wildly, Sora's eyes flickered back over to Kairi and Xemnas, and yet neither of the two responded, Xemnas's expression changing from interest to impatience. Sora couldn't find his voice, it was as if he were mute! "You IDIOT!" Roxas's mouth moved in front of him, and yet Sora felt like the voice was more inside his head than outside his body. "Do you WANT to die!"

_I have to save Kairi! _Sora thought fiercely, narrowing his eyes against the ghost of the Nobody. _You might not care about her, but if she gets killed, I'll never forgive myself!_

"Listen!" Roxas snapped back, voice hammering against Sora's skull. "If you talk about Axel right now, Axel will probably get KILLED. All your chances of getting out are with HIM! If he dies, we're both stuck here, so you might as well use that thing between your ears and keep quiet! Xemnas is going to kill her either way you put things, trust me! I've known him a lot longer than you have!"

_Let me talk! _Sora growled, knowing for a fact it was probably because of Roxas that he wasn't able to. What else could he do? Did Nobodies usually do this? It hadn't been explained to him by Yen Sid. _I might have just found this out, but I'M the one in charge here, so get back! Let me take care of myself! _How could he put his trust in the hands of somebody like him? If it involved Kairi getting killed, Sora would never go down that path.

"I'm just trying to do what's right for both of us!" Roxas pressed.

Xemnas had lost patience, taking a fistful of Kairi's hair and yanking her head back. "Come on, Sora." Xemnas growled, voice thick with an unspoken promise. "We're all waiting." Kairi whimpered out Sora's name, trying to struggle, trying to get back to her friend. Xemnas pointed his blade over to Kairi, eyes flickering over to the Keybearer. "I'm quite good with spells, which spell do you think would be best to kill her with?"

_PLEASE! _Sora begged, tears making his eyes sting and burn. Roxas was starting to fade by now, little by little. _LET ME SAVE HER! DON'T GO! _Roxas went without listening to him, warmth flooding back to him as the blonde seemed to sink through the floor. His voice was back, and Sora let out a cry of anguish, almost testing it. He sucked in a deep breath to scream out what Axel had done, already seeming the tips of lightening bolts spark out of the tip of Xemnas's sword, stabbing into Kairi's skin, the girl letting out cries of pain.

But suddenly, there was an earsplitting bomb that seemed to drop outside the room. At if on cue, all three heads whipped around at once towards the noise, Xemnas losing concentration as he dropped his weapon. There were screams and shouts coming from outside, and the Organization Leader looked from Sora to the door, obviously torn by what to do. Kairi took this moment to tear herself free of the man's grip, tears streaming down her face as she let out a yell. "SORA!" She screamed, trying desperately to get over to him.

Before Sora could try to respond, the door flew open, smoke and dust spilling out from the doorway. Two figures rushed inside, weapons drawn and clad in soot. The first person had an Organization cloak on, hood drawn up so that their face was shrouded away from the others in the room. But the person beside them -much shorter- was recognizable all the same. "Yuffie!" Sora yelled, disbelief and happiness shining in his eyes. The girl looked at Sora, face splitting into a wide grin. Before the hooded person could stop her, she started to rush over to him, eyes shining with triumph.

Xemnas growled, a dark cloud enveloping him for a moment before he disappeared, reappearing to stand over Sora, the boy pressed back forcibly against the wall. Sora winced in pain as his sore head slammed against the hard surface, mind reverting back to its fuzzy state as he tried to keep up with what was happening. Xemnas raised his weapon, hitting Yuffie and flinging her backwards to slam into the other wall with a thud, the girl getting to her feet with a pained grimace. "Give us Sora!" The girl yelled sharply. "Do it now, or you'll suffer the consequences!" The hooded figure stared at Sora, face still a mystery to the fazed boy.

Riku whirled back around, stomach churning as he saw Kairi. Whether it was from shock or from her wounds, the girl had slumped down on the ground, unconscious. Looking back to Sora, Riku felt his heart tear into half. And he knew which half he had even the slightest chance of getting now. Sora looked back at him, intelligence leaking back into his eyes little by little bit. Pausing a moment, Riku turned to Yuffie. The girl was rushing back over to Xemnas, the man readying himself for her. For the first time, Riku was glad for the stupidity of some people. He had a distraction.

Rushing over to Kairi, Riku leaned down, keyblade appearing with a gleam in his hands as he cut the bonds that were holding the girl to the wall. Scooping the unconscious form into his arms, Riku turned back to Yuffie, already summoning a portal in front of him. "Yuffie! We have to leave!" He yelled over to the girl, in a rush as he saw more Organization members starting in through the door. They were all heading to protect Sora. It would be foolish to try and get the boy as well, even though the thought of leaving him behind made Riku's heart sting.

Yuffie skidded shortly, looking back to her friend with wide eyes. "We're leaving him?" She shrieked, disbelief in her eyes. "W-We can't! He's hurt! You said-"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" Riku yelled back, cutting her off. "But if we don't leave, we'll end up the same way, now COME ON!"

Sora finally had a grasp on the situation, Yuffie meeting his eyes for a long moment. They both showed hurt and confusion. And for a moment, Riku thought that Yuffie would disobey him. But then the girl turned with a sharp intake, eyes closed as she charged back over to Riku. She was first into the portal, disappearing in the thick shadows. Riku took one last look at Sora, eyes wide pools of sadness. "We'll be back, I promise." He whispered, more than sure that Sora could not hear him. Those wide blue eyes were trained intently on Riku as he turned and charged after Yuffie, Kairi held in his arms bridal style.

Engulfed in the Realm of Darkness, Riku turned to Yuffie, the girl's face an apathetic mask, though her lower lip trembled. "We have to get back to Hollow Bastian." Riku said in a hushed undertone. "They'll be after us soon if we don't hurry. Once we're back there, they wont follow us, I'm sure of it." The girl did not respond, merely chasing after him as the two fled the scene.

Riku closed his eyes tightly, still feeling Sora's desperate eyes boring into him.

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A/N: DANG. THAT WAS A LONG CHAPTER WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH ME. HYPED UP ON SODA, I JUST COULDN'T STOP TYPING! MAN…I NEED A LIFE XDD

So, I got this idea this way: I was just sitting on the couch, watching TV when I couldn't find the remote. Looking around, I saw that it was by my sister. Tinkerbell (my puppy) was on the ground, and my sister picked her up, swinging her all around. My sister looked and me and was all: "Oh…you want the remote, or your dog?" And I was just speechless. Because of course I wanted both. But I couldn't have both, so I chose my dog and watched this stupid thing on TV for a long time. I was too lazy to get up and demand the remote.

On the seven page mark, I found out I didn't like this chapter as much as my other chapters. BUT it was seven pages, so there was no going back. O-o


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: So my birthday is on Sunday…and I wanted to ask you all if you could manage to give me something for my birthday. Could you give me the wonderful present of having our review count go up to 300? That would make me the happiest birthday girl in the world! It would make me happy even going to marching band camp, which seems boring so far XD But that's because I'm shy, so…

The thing about me is that I really am not sure some times how old I am. It took me like five minutes to realize that Sunday was my 14th birthday XDD

…I think I leave these funny Author Notes for you so you all wont think I'm mean and cruel like I make myself out to be in the story X3

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To say that Axel was surprised was a BIG understatement. The man was standing in the hallway, mouth dropped open wide, and eyes wide as he stared at nothing. After all, who could blame him? The others had been the same way before they had snapped out of it, turning around and rushing back into the room where Sora was. Everyone…except one person…who Axel was currently starting to look down at it. As soon as he started to overcome the shock of the sudden attack, the man looked down at Xigbar, who was motionless on the ground. Unmoving. Was he dead?

The attack had been sudden, that was for sure. It was all quiet -as quiet as it could get when your standing outside a scene like that- and before you could count to eight, these two strangers just popped out of nowhere, as if they had been birthed from the ceiling! They were acting quick, and before any of the men could even try to withdraw their weapons, the hooded man raised his hand, a large and powerful beam of light bursting out with a sound that was much like a crack of a million fireworks going off at the same time.

Whatever it had been, it had been powerful. Axel was never one to toot his own horn, but he liked to think that he was the smartest of the other people in the Organization. Combined. The fiery red-head gasped sharply, feet crumpling underneath him as he had dropped to the ground, just managing to escape the attack with minimal injuries. The others were not so lucky, not having the sense of Axel as they stood up, readying themselves to fight. Xigbar had been right in the middle of the attack…there was no way he would have been able to-

"Xigbar!" Axel snapped out of his thoughts, blinking as he looked up as Luxord rushed out of the room. The two people must have left already. For a moment, Axel felt a strange lightness starting to kindle in his chest. Did they come to rescue Sora? Did they do it? Did they pull off the feat that Axel was struggling to even get into his head? Axel pictured Sora breaking away from Xemnas, charging after the two with the same childish grin on his face. …Yes! Axel had seen that girl! He knew he had before! She was the girl he had to distract in order for the others to capture Sora! Surely that was the reason they came!

Luxord stooped down to Xigbar, eyes wide with shock as he looked at the still body. Looking over at Axel, questions fizzed in the man's eyes, and almost a little accusation lingering there as well. Axel's hands flew out in front of him, green eyes wide as he gestured wildly for surrender. Sighing heavily, Luxord looked back at Xigbar, eyes narrowed into worries slits. Leaning down, Luxord looked down hard at the man's chest, waiting for a small rise and fall to signal Luxord's breathing. But the man was not moving a single millimeter. Slowly, the man's body started to disappear in a cloud of shadow, disappearing bit by bit, starting from his feet and slowly melting away all the way to his head. Soon, there was nothing left but empty ground.

Luxord closed his eyes tightly, ducking his head close to his chest in grief. Xaldin caught sight of the scene, an enraged roar erupting from the man that nearly shattered Axel's eardrums. Wincing away from the noise, Axel felt a small tug of sadness as well to the man's death, ducking his head somewhat in accordance with Luxord and Xaldin. In the back of his mind, he remembered that they didn't do this for Demyx. …He was annoying, there was no need.

"What!" A voice yelled, making all of the three snap back up to reality, Axel hitting his head against the wall. Grimacing, the man reached up, rubbing the sore spot roughly, rubbing the pain away. Letting his hand fall back to his side, Axel watched as Saix came out of the room first, eyes wide with surprise as he realized that they were missing Xigbar. But he had not been the one to let out the yell, Axel was sure of that. No matter how shocked Saix looked, he couldn't have made the shout.

His thought was confirmed right as Xemnas stomped outside, eyes blazing with fury and anger that was almost beyond comprehension. Axel took taken aback for a moment, not able to react to the sudden burst of fury from the Organization Leader. But what shocked him even more was that Sora was still here. WHY was Sora still here! Those were his friends, right? Why didn't they save him? Axel would have been overcome with anger, if not for the tidal wave of pity and concern that snuffed out the flames before they could grow.

Sora seemed on the brink of passing out, the boy standing limply beside Xemnas. The only reason he wasn't crumpling to the ground probably because Xemnas had such a tight hold on the boy's shoulder. Otherwise, Axel was sure that the boy would have fallen over from a little tiny breeze. New and gaping wounds were etched across the boy's face and arms, head lolling slightly as he blinked rapidly, as if trying to wake himself up more. Axel was glad that Xemnas was not looking at him, for he was sure that he wasn't doing such a good job of hiding the emotions that were swirling inside of him like a storm.

"Those two found us." Xemnas growled tightly, eyes dark and teeth grinding together, making loud scraping sounds against one another. His grip tightened on Sora, and the boy flinched away from the hold, ducking his head. "It wont be long until they'll all be storming through here, trying to rescue him." He shook Sora roughly as he spoke, the boy's eyes widening as he his head spun. "If they were the ones to kill Xigbar, they'll be in for a nasty shock if they ever try to come back."

There was silence, nobody speaking for a moment, both out of fear from Xemnas and just for the moment. Xemnas was still seething, like he was unaware of the men staring at him expectantly. Finally, Xaldin spoke up, oddly subdued from the whole string of events that had taken place. "What happened to the girl?" He asked, the question that was surely on everybody's mind. It was on Axel's mind for sure, as he had not been one of the people to rush inside to Xemnas's aid. He had stayed out here, barley even able to listen to the noises going on inside in attempt to keep up. He was too busy staring, still caught off-guard. Not the most heroic thing to do.

"They got her." Xemnas growled, anger only escalating. Axel let out a mental sigh of relief. Xemnas whipped around to glare at him, Axel jumping at the sudden movement. But he growled, anger rushing in to fill in every one of his features. He was very gifted at lying, if he did say so himself. It seemed as though he was tooting his horn a lot today. And yet, the fact was true, and he prided himself in the way that Xemnas seemed to lose a little of his hostility at looking at him. Hopefully it worked out, Xemnas would stop suspecting him so much. After all that's happened right now, you would think that the man would have bigger things to worry about.

"From now on, I want everybody guarding the castle, we have to hurry this up, otherwise they might come back. This time in a bigger group." His freezing eyes swept through the remaining Organization members, almost as if daring them to refuse the new order. The others were nodding slowly to themselves, as if it were making sense to them slowly. Xemnas shook his head, still refusing to calm down. "I want one person spaced around the castle at all times. We are not going to let a few TEENAGERS ruin this plan for us. We've worked to make this happen, and we will not give up just yet."

The small clump of people let out murmurs of agreement, nodding their heads almost in time with one another. Axel did the same, eyes locked with Sora's own, a small, almost desperate gleam in the depths. But Sora did not make eye contact with him. Whether it was from his severely weakened state, or something else that Axel did not want to think of, he didn't know. He didn't even know if he WANTED to know. True, he had been the one issued to take Kairi here, the thought making him flinch backwards. Did Sora know that? Was that why he wasn't looking at him?

"You all take Sora back to his room." Xemnas growled, shoving Sora forward like he was nothing more than a doll. Sora fell forward, too dead to the world to try and push out his arms in order to break his fall. Axel felt himself ready to dive forward out of habit, but to his surprise, Saix swooped down first, grabbing Sora and pushing him back up before the boy could crash into the hard ground. Xemnas went on, not bothering to look at Sora once more. "It'll take all of you to do so, there might be more of them hiding in the castle, waiting to ambush us. You never know."

Axel highly doubted it, yet he kept the thought to himself. A wise move, in his opinion.

When nobody moved, Xemnas glowered at each one of them. "GO!" He ordered, the others jumping ten feet into the air. Obeying his command -not about to stand there a moment longer- the remaining pieces of what used to be a group of thirteen turned around swiftly and making their way down the hall rapidly. Rounding the corner, Axel hesitated a moment, glancing over his shoulder for a last look at Xemnas. The Leader was glaring down at the ground, still fuming with anger at the thought of being beaten by two strangers.

Looking at him now, and thinking of the way he had optimized security around the castle, Axel allowed himself a small shadow of uncertainty to cross over his eyes. Breaking Sora out would be much more difficult considering the past events. Xemnas would not be allowing him out of his sight probably, making it all the more difficult. Was it worth it anymore? Xemnas would surely speed up the process of Kingdom Hearts even more now, it would probably only take a week until it would be full. Pushing it for two weeks. Would he even have TIME to come up with a formidable plan!

He wondered if Sora would even remember his promise. After all, he had been hit on the head a LOT since that moment outside. Shaking himself, Axel quickened his pace, hurrying up to catch up with the others. Sora would remember something as big as that, he wasn't stupid. And yet Axel was debating on whether or not to even consider it anymore. It was too complicated by now, and Sora might not even trust him enough to do so. Why bother?

And yet, looking at Sora, Axel couldn't even fathom trying to lie to the boy. Currently, Sora was struggling to keep up, stumbling and staggering after the others. Saix held his hands back, as if trying to make sure he didn't whirl around and start attacking. Honestly, sometimes these people didn't even think. He was totally going to do that after all the stuff that has happened in the past hour and a half. It was clear on Saix's face that he was the one holding Sora upright, just like Axel had figured.

No, the boy had determination. If that had been Axel, he would just let himself be dragged along the halls, laying splayed out on the ground like a dead deer. But Sora had the drive to keep walking, as if hanging onto the last shred of his dignity as if his life depended on it. So Axel knew for a fact that he could not give up on Sora. WOULD not give up on Sora. They had arrived at the room, and Axel hesitated, watching as the others walked freely into the room. He had to do something first.

"Hey." He said, catching the attention of the Organization members as they turned, eyeing him expectantly. Jabbing his thumb behind him, Axel put on an uncaring look once again. "I'm gonna go get him something to eat." He muttered. "Xemnas is going to want him right back into fighting the heartless, he needs something to eat, otherwise he'll just fall down dead." Man, he hoped he worded that right, otherwise it would scuff everything else up.

But to his relief, everybody seemed satisfied with his explanation, turning away from him as they talked amongst themselves. Ducking his head, Axel let out a small sigh, spinning around and marching back the way he had come. Now to get to work…

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"Clear the table for her!"

"There's too much junk on it! How do you expect us to-"

"LIKE THIS!"

CRASH.

"…That works."

"You're darn right it works." Yuffie snapped, eyeing the broken glass and books that were now strewn across the ground. Merlin would have a fit when he came home. Which should be in about a few seconds, considering he always seemed to know whenever something serious was going on here. Riku did not hesitate before he set Kairi down gently on the table, the red-head still unconscious from whatever had been going on when they had arrived. "Does anybody have a potion?" Yuffie demanded.

"No." Leon answered for the rest. "We used it all up again."

"I'll do it!" Donald said in a rush, having recognized Kairi as soon as the two had burst inside. Rushing forward on his short legs, he stood on his toes in order to look over the table. Reaching over, Donald murmured a small word under his breath, pressing the tip of his wand against Kairi's chest. Immediately, a vine-like light streamed out from Donald's wand, traveling over Kairi and weaving through her wounds, like a stitch. Donald drew back at once, tucking his wand away tidily.

The room went silent, Yuffie sure she would have heard a pencil drop if they had tested it. Goofy looked at Kairi anxiously, eyes wide and nervous. With Kairi here and safe, they would have both of Sora's friends here. That way when Sora…got back, they would have a large surprise waiting for him. Yuffie cursed herself at the pause in her thoughts. But suddenly, Kairi gasped sharply, sitting bolt upright and nearly slamming her head into Goofy's in the process. "Sora!" She yelled, looking ultimately confused as she looked back and forth wildly. "Where am I!" She shrieked, fumbling as she tried to get off of the table.

"It's alright." Leon said, being the first to calm Kairi down. "You're in Hollow Bastian, you're safe. Riku and Yuffie brought you back here from the Organization. They wont come after you anymore." Eyes flashing over to Yuffie for a moment, he added. "We're Sora's friends, you don't need to worry." The girl turned, looking at Goofy and Donald, a flash of recognition entering her eyes at the familiar faces. She knew for sure these were Sora's friends. She remembered the time that she had fled through the Hollow Bastian Castle with the two. Actually…looking around now, she realized she knew these people as well. She had stayed with them for a brief time when Sora had left her in their care. She began to calm down, when something else made her start.

"Riku?" She asked, perking up. She had not heard that name in a long time. Looking around, Kairi scanned the faces, searching for her friend. She swept right past the worried-looking Mickey, not even pausing at Ansem, who's face was blank, as it usually was. But she did stop when her eyes landed on Riku, surprise radiating off of her. But she recovered instantly, a warm smile spreading over her lips as her eyes softened. Yuffie raised her eyebrow, quite impressed. She had hardly believed that was Riku at first. How had this girl knew it was him without even being told first?

Suddenly, Kairi snapped out of the moment, eyes wide as she continued along the circle that surrounded her. Yuffie's heart fell, and by the look on Mickey, Donald, and Goofy's face, they knew what she was about to say as well. "Where's Sora?" The girl demanded, looking back at Leon. When the man did not answer, she turned to Yuffie. "Did you leave him there? You didn't leave him there, did you?" She was obviously awake for the first part of their little break in. Yuffie controlled her face so that it was expressionless.

"We couldn't do anything to help him." She said, voice a low whisper.

Kairi's face fell into a shocked look, eyes widening. Aerith immediately came forward to her, the most sympathetic of the group. She tried to start calming the girl with soft words and an encouraging smile, unfaltering in her words. Feeling her feet start to backtrack, Yuffie turned, exiting Merlin's house and slamming the door behind her, sure that nobody else would try and follow her. Closing her eyes, the girl let out a small sigh, cracking open one eye and watching as her breath furled into a small cloud in front of her. Then it disappeared, almost as soon as it had come. Yuffie looked at the spot where it had been, staring at it intently, as if waiting for it to reappear. It did not. How could it?

Suddenly, there was crashing noise inside, Merlin's voice raising into a loud, panicky tone. He came then. Yuffie had known that he would, sooner or later. The ninja let a small smile come over her at the man's yells. No doubt he had be shocked by the mess she had made of his table. But it wasn't like she regretting doing it. The magician's voice faded away somewhat, unable to be heard now from where she stood. He must have been asking about the girl currently OCCUPYING his table, Yuffie figured.

Turning back around, her smile vanished at the sound of the door opening and closing behind her. She didn't have to have three guesses as to who it would be, and when Leon came to a stop beside her, she didn't feel the same anger she felt when she saw him now. Instead, she let out a small, dry laugh, eyes showing little humor. "It's a mess." She laughed, clasping her hands behind her back. Leon eyed the odd sentence, but did not question it.

Instead, he questioned something else. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm just fine." Yuffie muttered, knowing that he wanted to know more than that. Closing her eyes once more, Yuffie voiced the scene that had been in her mind ever since that had gotten back. "The leader of the Organization was attacking Kairi." She started, no doubt in her mind that Riku was explaining the tale to the others inside. If he could tell it, so could she. "Right in front of Sora." Her forehead creased slightly. "He looked terrible, Leon. He was hurt…really bad. And the look he gave me when we had to leave…I can't-" She broke off, looking away with a glare at the ground. "Why did I leave him?" She whispered harshly, not meaning for Leon to hear it. "I should have stayed."

"I should have stayed too. It's not your fault." Leon said, trying to comfort her. "And it would have made no difference-"

"I don't care." Yuffie said, softer. "I just don't care."

"Look, we'll get him, alright? Mickey and Ansem are starting on a plan together, and it's going to work out, I promise. Do you hear me?" He asked when Yuffie did not respond. "We're going to go to wherever that stupid castle is, and we're going to make those Organization members wish they'd never been born. And you can be the first one to attack them."

Yuffie glanced at Leon out of the corner of her eye. "How can you be so sure?" She asked, heavily.

"Because." Leon said, facing Yuffie fully now. "I would do anything to protect Sora, just like you would. And I would do anything to protect you, just the same."

Yuffie's eyes were wide, caught off-guard. She acted on impulse, all the feelings for Leon rising up suddenly, ramming her right into the throat. Lurching forward, Yuffie wrapped her arms around Leon's neck, pressing her lips against his as hard as she could, Leon's eyes widening at the sudden movement. But then he relaxed, reaching forward and holding Yuffie close to him, and never wanting to let go.

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Sora leaned against the wall, relying on only that to help him sit up. Wrapped in pain, confusion, and overall sadness, he could do little except make sure he stayed awake. At least while the Organization members were here in the room with him. After they left, he didn't think he would bother doing even that. Xaldin had gotten back to his old attitude, recovering from both the sudden death of Xigbar, and the recent burst of anger from Xemnas. "That must really hurt." Xaldin was chuckling, Luxord smirked from where he stood, but Saix only looked irritated, as if counting the more useful things he could be doing at the moment. Sora looked up at Xaldin miserably, shoulders slumped as he waited for him to speak again. He didn't even try to defend himself. "I mean, your friends come here right in front of you! And then they skip you completely and go after that girl! I mean- you must feel so ticked off right now!" The man doubled over with laughter, holding his stomach as if it were going to burst. "I think it's just hilarious!"

Sora frowned, eyes stinging as he looked away.

"Alright, come on." Axel walked through the door, looking sharply at Xaldin. "Xemnas gave you a job, or had you forgotten already? If he sees you in here gossiping, THEN we'll see who's ticked off." Sora looked up, waiting for Axel to look at him the same way he always did, eyes betraying a small hint of hope. But all Axel did was put the tray of food he was carrying in front of Sora, almost carelessly. He didn't even look at him. "Let's clear out, we only got a short amount of time before Xemnas will be over us like a vulture. Come on. I'll take the west part of the Castle."

He turned away, still refusing to care at all enough to glance at the boy. Sora felt all his energy sap at once, jaw falling open. He thought of calling out for him, but Axel was already leaving the door, the others following, Xaldin chuckling to himself as he went along. The door slammed and Sora was alone once again. "…Axel?" Sora whispered, voice laced with pain and hurt. Was the man backing out of his promise? Was Sora going to be stuck here forever? So as soon as Axel was threatened, he was leaving Sora to fend for himself. After all, he was the one to bring Kairi here. Why would he have ever meant what he said?

Sora growled, ducking his head and glowering down at the tray of food. But then his expression cleared, the boy blinked as he leaned forward, with difficulty. Narrowing his eyes, Sora saw a small thing sticking out from under a small bottle of water. It was…paper. Knocking the water over carelessly, Sora picked up the small letter carefully, looking at the small thing carefully. It had been folded many times, Sora was surprised he had even noticed it.

Unfolding the thing rapidly, Sora looked over at the door fearfully. But nobody came in. Letter unfolded all the way, Sora brought it closer to his face, eyes skimming over the page quickly. It was in rushed handwriting, and yet Sora managed to read it all the same with ease.

_I'm so sorry. Had no idea. Please forgive me._

_Meant what I said. If you'll trust me, I'll still help you._

_I'll help YOU. Not Roxas, and not the Organization. Please forgive me._

_~ A_

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A/N: So…will you please give me the gift of three hundred reviews? I would love it very much ^^

I MEANT WHAT I SAID, AND I SAID WHAT I MEANT. AN AXEL IS FAITHFUL. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT :I

Band Camp starts on Monday. I'll be there from eight in the morning to four in the evening. That goes for two weeks. So updates will defiantly slow for those two weeks. Then I have a week left of summer till School starts, so I'll make up for it that week. So don't be freaking out on Monday when I don't update, I'm in a much more boring place. If that comforts you at all :3

HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY TO ME IN TWO DAYSSSS! PLEASE GIVE ME THREE HUNDRED REVIEWS! *puppy eyes*


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I'll try to get this out. We're SO close! :D I can taste it, yet again o-o

I've asked for a buttload of Kingdom Hearts stuff for my birthday, and I finally remembered that one Chain of Memories game that I never played. (I WOULD be asking for the newest game, but I don't have a 3DS STUPID PEOPLE I WANNA SMACK YOU) But I feel like I would get annoyed in that game because of the way Sora looks, in contrast to his voice. It's like…BAM! INSTANT PUBERTY! :I

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Riku leaned against the wall, eyes closed and mouth pulled down into a frown as he listened to the yells and shouts bouncing back and forth over the crowd like beach balls. The people in the house yelled plans back and forth, Riku wondering how the heck they ever got anything done. Merlin stood beside the chalk board, eyes wide as he looked at the chaos in front of him. He only had time to write a fraction of the plan down before another one was hurled down at him. It looked like a mess on the board, and Riku was at his wit's end with this thing.

Surprisingly, Yuffie wasn't. The girl just sat by and watched everything, such as Riku was doing. But she had a small smile on her face, not the angered frown that was on Riku's. She had a small glimmer in her eyes, and she did not resemble the girl he had talked to yesterday at all. Riku eyed the girl oddly, unable to guess what had made her so happy all of a sudden. But he shook his head slowly, shrugging it off of his shoulders. Instead, he turned to the other girl in the far corner of the room, who did not resemble the picture of happy at all.

Blue eyes dull, Kairi watched anxiously at the swarm of shouts and arguments going on around her. Her hands were tucked behind her back, and she looked slightly disappointed as she surveyed the scene. Riku smiled, pushing himself off of the wall and striding over to stand beside her. She flashed a look over at him, but she did not say anything, merely returning her look back to where it was originally. "Hey." Riku greeted, feeling the tension crackle between them. "You alright?" He asked finally, figuring he might as well say it and stop standing there like an idiot.

"I'm fine." Kairi said, a small smile worming its way onto her face. She turned, an almost playful look shimmering in her blue eyes. "I missed you, you know." She said, giggling as Riku turned away, embarrassed. "You can't blame me though, can you? I didn't even see you leave." Her eyes shadowed, and she ducked her head as she added, "Like I got to see Sora leave." Before Riku could try to get a word in, she whirled around, eyes wide and nervous. "Why did you leave him there?" She demanded. "Was it because of me? Please tell me it wasn't my fault."

Riku blinked, caught off-guard. If Kairi was not in immediate danger like that, WOULD they have had time to rescue Sora? Shaking himself mentally, Riku threw the thought away roughly. "Of course that's not true." He snapped, a little harsher than he had meant to. Controlling himself, he added, more softly. "We wouldn't have had a chance if you hadn't been there anyway. I should have known that from the start, and not even bothered. Now I've just gone and stirred everybody up." Looking back to the crowd dejectedly, he grumbled, "Stupid Organization, I'll bash their heads in one by one."

Kairi looked a little bit more comforted, and when she spoke, it was for a completely different topic. "So, are you surprised about Yuffie and Leon?" She asked, leaning over and looking over at Yuffie, who was still smiling a mile a minute. Riku started at the odd words, looking confused and put-off as he followed her eyes. It was true that he thought the two were acting a little different, but he didn't think it would be because of….that.

"How do you know?" He asked, looking back at the red-haired girl.

"I'm a girl?" Kairi said, making it sound like a question as she raised her eyebrows at her friend.

"Almost forgot." Riku snickered.

Kairi laughed a little at this, and Riku felt a warmth in his heart that he had not felt in a while. It was just like old times, the way they were together and joking. Though there was one presence -a crucial absence- not there, the giggles and teasing almost made it seem like Sora was standing right beside Kairi, laughing the loudest, and most obnoxious of them all.

Riku watched as Kairi looked back over to Yuffie, who had moved forward to stand beside Leon, the two talking closely together, probably of a possible plan that didn't stink. The red-haired girl's smile started to fade slightly, and when Leon reached forward to hold Yuffie's hand, the girl's face was blank once more. Except for a small gleam of longing in her blue eyes, looking at the couple like she would have killed to be there as well. With one other, very special person.

Riku sighed, opening his mouth to try and comfort her once again. But there was a loud, sharp whistle that came from the black board, and Riku -along with the rest of the room- snapped his head back to look over towards the noise. Mickey stood on top of the table, the black board scooted over so that it was close to the mouse, and so he was able to reach it. The mouse's eyes flashed as the people looked at him intently, the air of authority seeming to radiate off of the King. "Listen up." He snapped, gaze sweeping over the people on the ground below. "I've figured out the best way to go around this, thanks to what Riku had told me." He flashed the boy a look, and Riku stared steadily back to him. "Everybody will have a part in this plan, because we need every single fighting person ready.

"There are six Organization members there, probably guarding the castle a lot better now after these past events." Riku winced, knowing that was his fault. "And there are about ten people here right now. That gives us nearly two people an Organization Member. Which are good odds, considering Sora had killed some of them just by himself." When nods and mummers traveled through the group, Riku looked over at Kairi to see what she was thinking of the plan, but the girl's eyes were narrowed as she looked up at the King. Mickey had turned, scribbling down names on the chalk board, unable to see Kairi's odd look.

When Mickey stepped to the side, he jammed his finger over to point at the board. He had written six names down in chalk. Xaldin, Saix, Xigbar, Luxord, Xemnas, and Axel. "These are the people that we have to face in order to get to Sora. We need to split ourselves up into groups, who will go after each person. Ansem will go against Axel, which sound be enough for him to handle on his own." Ansem nodded once at this, eyes closing as he did so. "I will go against Xemnas." The King's eyes narrowed as he spoke, an angered look crossing over his face. Riku knew that the King had grudges against the Leader of the Organization. As the King controlled himself to keep speaking, Riku knew that if anybody could be a good match for Xemnas other than Sora, it would be Mickey. And yet that would not stop Riku from seeking the mouse out in an aid to help him in battle after he finished with his own target.

Looking thoughtful now, Mickey scanned the group below him. "Merlin and Aerith, you two are the best match together, and you will have to find Luxord and go against him. He likes to perform magic, so you two will be the best match against him. Leon and Yuffie, I'm pairing you two together because of your similar fighting techniques. You'll go up against Xaldin and make sure that you have him distracted. Goofy, Donald, I'm keeping you together for obvious reasons. You to will be the match for Saix." As the two nodded tensely, Mickey turned over to Riku and Cid. "The leaves you two to deal with Xigbar. Does everybody know what you have to do?" He demanded, eyes narrowing as he looked across the group of people.

When they shrugged and nodded their heads, Mickey smiled, nodding once in affirmation. "This battle isn't going to be won easily, I'm afraid. From what Riku had said about sneaking into the Organization, they are not going to give up Sora so soon. But Sora is our friend, and we'll do as much as we can to bring him back." Looking once more over at Riku, Mickey added, voice dropping somewhat. "Riku, I'll admit, if you hadn't gone there yesterday, this would be much easier. But you managed to save Kairi before anything bad could happen, so I wont hold anything against you."

Riku deadpanned, looking away. "Thanks a lot." He grumbled, embarrassment flooding over him.

"Hang on a minute!" Kairi blustered, taking a step forward. Mickey blinked, surprise making his hand drop back to his side limply. Kairi glared defiantly at the King, to the shock of Donald and Goofy, who were torn between being shocked or being impressed. "Ten people?" Kairi asked. "There's eleven here." She said, pointing to herself. At Mickey's guilty look, Kairi drew herself up. "I want to help you to." She said firmly. "I don't want to sit back here while you all go and risk your lives. I'm coming." She said it like she was giving an order, hands fisted at her side.

"Kairi…" Mickey trailed off, looking over to the side. "You're hurt…I don't wanna risk anything."

"You wont be risking anything." Kairi snapped back. Then her voice dropped, becoming softer as she went on. "I may not know exactly what's been going on here, but I know that Sora's in trouble. A long time ago, he sacrificed himself for me, not knowing whether or not he would ever come back. I couldn't call myself his friend if I didn't do that same for him. It's my turn to save him."

Silence met her words, and Riku could literally see Mickey's conflicting emotions flashing through his eyes. Goofy and Donald smiled kindly at the girl, and Kairi smiled gently back. A pang of jealousy rang through Riku as they met gazes, but he shoved it away stubbornly. Sora was friends with the two, why wouldn't Kairi be that as well? The two never did show much interest in becoming friends with Riku, and the man felt a pang as he realized it might be because of what he had done to Sora before. It wasn't like they were mad and refused to be with him, they were just…awkward. But then again, everything about them said awkward.

Finally, Mickey nodded once more. "Alright, then, Kairi. You'll be with Riku and Cid against Xigbar." Turning away from her, Mickey addressed everyone this time. "If you finish the battle, you need to stick together and start looking for Sora. He could be anywhere. If you come across one of us struggling, you are to stop and help out, do you all got that? Sora is important, but we are going to get nowhere if we start abandoning each other."

"Right then." Mickey turned, setting the piece of chalk down with a small clap. "We're going to need a lot of potions, you can go do that, Leon. The rest of us will stay here and prepare. We are all going to leave soon, but we need to put a few finishing touches on some things first." Turning, Mickey hopped down from the table and landing with a thud on the ground. Kairi seemed a lot more upbeat now, turning around with gleaming eyes to Riku.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked eagerly, as if she couldn't bear to stay still any longer.

Riku eyed her for a moment, a small smile on his face. "…Let's go find Cid." He answered.

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Sora swung his keyblade through the last of the heartless, breath coming out in a harsh wheeze. Looking around at the empty room around him, Sora let out a small groan, closing his eyes and letting himself fall down to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. He struggled to breathe in enough air, wincing at the burning tension in his muscles, which seemed to scream out whenever he moved an inch. How long had he been here anyway? He had lost count, if he had even tried to keep track.

Closing his eyes tightly, he let out a shuddering breath, shoulders shaking as he did so. His keyblade disappeared as soon as it had touched the ground, as if it too didn't have the strength to even keep staying beside Sora. He watched as it left without him consciously making a point to do so. Ducking his head, he let out a slow breath, trying to push himself up into a sitting position. The door swung open, Sora's head snapping up out of habit now.

Axel and Xaldin walked inside, Xaldin looking grouchy as he walked beside the red-haired Organization member. He was talking to himself, Sora only managing to pick up the last few words as they neared closer. "…think that he would want more people around." Xaldin was grumbling, watching Sora sourly as he came to stop in front of him. "And why don't we just leave him in here until Kingdom Hearts is finished? It's ridiculous."

"It's almost done, don't get yourself into a twist." Axel growled, stooping down and yanking Sora up by the shoulder. Sora blinked, blue eyes darting down to Axel's hand, which was gripping his shoulder. Sora hadn't come into contact with Axel before now, not ever since he had gotten the note from him. The man's hand was tensed, as if he were holding Sora a lot harder than normal. But he was hardly putting any pressure onto the boy's shoulder. Getting the message, Sora glared angrily at Axel looking down at the ground sourly as Axel caught the look. "He'll come back in in a while, Xaldin. He's not a machine."

Xaldin huffed agreement. "If he were, we would have been done by now."

The two exited the overly-large room, shutting the door behind them and making the short distance back to Sora's room. Axel looked over at Xaldin, rolling his eyes. "You know how close Kingdom Hearts is to being finished, you know because Xemnas wont shut up about it." Sora didn't have to fake the look of horror that came over his face at the statement. "It'll be done in like, two days. Can't you wait that long?" Sarcasm dripped from Axel's voice, and Xaldin bristled at the tone.

"Xaldin!" The man started at the sound of his name, looking up and watching Saix stride down the hall, eyes narrowed. Both of them stopped in their tracks, Sora blinking as he looked up to watch the oncoming Organization member carefully. "Xemnas says that you don't have to watch Axel any more." The man reported, coming to a stop. "We need as many people as we can get guarding the castle now, Xemnas thinks that trouble is going to start up pretty soon." His eyes were grim as he spoke, and Sora blinked, confused.

"Finally." Xaldin grunted. "Where do you want me to go?"

"Go to the West Wing. That was where Axel was before. I take it that Xemnas told you to look after him?" Saix asked, nodding down to Sora.

"Yup." Axel said, flinging the word over like it didn't matter all that much.

Saix nodded for a moment, then turned over to Xaldin. "Right then. Go to the West Wing. Once I have somebody to replace Axel on guard, he will come and relieve you." Xaldin nodded, turning around and heading the other way, brisk pace making him disappear around the corner before too long. Axel watched him go with a blank look, turning back and staring expectantly at Saix. The man looked him over a moment. "Carry on then." He said, turning and setting down the hall as well.

Axel stood still until they were alone, waiting for both sets of footsteps had faded away into nothing. "Guy acts like he rules the world." Axel huffed, walking much slower than normal as they continued to Sora's room. "He gets under my skin for no reason. Everybody gets under my skin."

Sora smiled crookedly. "Did I?" He mused.

"You lasted two seconds before getting under my skin." Axel laughed, recognizing the door that marked Sora's room coming up ahead. Ducking his head closer to Sora's he dropped his voice to a low mutter, in case somebody was walking close by. "I have it all figured out." He muttered, Sora's face clearing into a serious expression as he looked on. "We have to act soon, Kingdom Hearts could be finished tomorrow, it just depends on how long they keep you inside. If it gets too long, I'll get you out."

Suddenly, footsteps started in the direction of them, Luxord coming down the hall. In a rushed whisper, Axel hissed back the rest in a rushed fashion. "Just do whatever I tell you to tomorrow, we wont have much time at all." Straightening, Axel came to a stop in front of the door, reaching over, ready to open it and shove Sora inside. But Luxord hesitated when the got close to Axel, coming to a stop and raising an eyebrow at the red-haired man.

"What?" Axel asked icily.

"What were you-"

"OH MY GOODNESS!" Axel exploded, even Sora jumping with surprise, blue eyes wide like Luxord's. "I'M SO BUSY RUNNING AROUND DOING EVERYTHING FOR EVERYBODY, AND RIGHT WHEN I'M SUPER BUSY, YOU COME OVER AND INTURRUPT MY HARD WORK! DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO DO, LUXORD? DON'T WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO DO? GEEZ, GO DO YOU WORK, DO YOU WANT XEMNAS TO KNOW HOW YOU'VE BEEN SLACKING OFF? AND THAT YOU'VE BEEN DISTRACTING ME FROM GAURDING THIS THING! CAUSE I WILL TELL HIM!" Sora was shook back and forth nearly every word, head spinning as he tried to control his tilting vision.

Luxord's eyes were wide, hands up as if to shield himself. "Calm down, Axel." He said, shocked. "I was just on my way to the other end of the Castle! I'm switching spots with Saix!"

"WELL YOU BETTER GO AND GET WHEREVER YOU HAVE TO GO, AND I'LL BE WATCHING FOR YOU IF YOU TRY TO SNEAK BACK HERE! GO! GO! GO!" Luxord shook himself, spinning around and rushing back on track, passing up Axel and going down the hall like a startled rabbit. "THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!" Axel hollered after him, green eyes irritated. Blowing out a huff of air, it was a moment before Sora started laughing, the boy covering his mouth in an attempt to muffle the noise.

Axel snickered, trying not to follow Sora's loud laughter. "Shut up, they're going to hear you." He said, stifled laughter lingering behind the words. Opening the door, Axel didn't even have to make Sora go inside, the boy still chuckling as he walked in on his own. Axel tried to hold back his smile, a twitching frown showing inside. "Shut up, that was dangerous! Our whole plan could have-" He couldn't stop himself. Laughing, Axel did the same as Sora, covering his mouth tightly to try and subdue the giggles. "Just don't die before I come back." Axel laughed, turning around and shutting the door before Sora made him laugh even louder.

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A/N: You should all search up the song I'm Not the One. I think it sums up Axel's thoughts for Sora really well. I really wish I could draw more than stick figures…I could make some really kick-butt AMV's for this thing XD

The next few chapters shall be awesome!

Did you know how I came up with this idea? I was playing hide and seek with my friends in the rain, and I was huddled under a bush, scared out of my mind because they were jumping out at people when they found them. And I'm really easy to scare, so I was freaked out~ And then all of a sudden, I looked down at the ground and went like: "…Hmmm…"

AND THUS…FADING WAS BORN! :D

I put Sora and Axel in there for a little mood-kill, and for the little spiel Axel gave Sora before Luxord was all: "Move away people, I'm ready for my close up o3o"

PLEASE GIVE ME AN EVEN MORE WONDERFUL GIFT FOR TOMORROW! MORE THAN 300 REVIEWS! :D I might update tomorrow, I don't know yet. I know I'll be able to update on Monday, my sister has a swim meet, and I'll have the computer for a few hours. But only a few, so I'll have to break out my soda once again X3


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Started this on Saturday, probably going to finish it Sunday :3

Sorry for the flaw in the last chapter, thank you so much for telling me, Toki, otherwise I would not have noticed, and more people would have seen it XD So thank you once again~

GASP…I don't have anything else to say, I uploaded a chapter about ten minutes ago….so…

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The sun was just beginning to rise when the serious-faced group of people filed out of the house in silence, careful not to wake anybody else up in the sleeping town, and also too nervous to find that much to say to one another. A small, pink streak of soft light was marking the horizon where the sun was poking its way up into the sky, a chill in the air without the warmth the sun brought with it. Shivering in the chilly atmosphere, they formed a small line together, waiting for King Mickey to come out of the house and give them the all-clear to which they would be able to go.

Tension crackled in the air, excited tension, but nervous all the same. People were counting off the number of potions they had, memorizing the number fixedly. Loaded with the healing mixtures, Riku figured that the King had bought enough of them to last a lifetime. But every person could only hold so much, and that left more than half of them unable to be used. They were currently sitting inside of the Magician's house, as if waiting for the aftermath of the battle. Riku was sure they were going to need some, either way.

Kairi and Yuffie stood together side-by-side, the two girls taking comfort in the other's presence there. The two had become friends last time Kairi had been here, no doubt starting their friendship over now that she was back. Though she had not been here a long time, one just couldn't NOT become friends with Yuffie. A few hours ago, Riku had come to the sudden realization that he too had started friendship with the girl. He didn't even know when that happened.

Aerith looked the most nervous out of all of them, Riku guessing that she wasn't much of a fighter. But, Mickey had been wise. He had paired her with an all-powerful wizard, right? She should be fine. Hopefully they would all be fine, and all pull through with one annoying little kid in tow. Riku glanced over at Cid, wondering what kind of help he would be in a fight. In his years of Middle School, Riku had never encountered a computer nerd who would be much help outside the computer lab. But he guessed that things were full of surprises here.

Murmuring had broken out among the crowd, as if the others found the silence as stifling as Riku thought it was. Yuffie and Kairi got into a pointless conversation about Kairi's shoes, and Riku overheard a conversation about the weather from Goofy and Donald. They were all obviously avoiding talking about the task at hand. But the mutterings stopped at once as Mickey pushed his way out the door, Ansem following like a shadow. The blonde man looked calm as ever, Riku wondered if he ever looked anything but.

"Alright then." Mickey said firmly, walking up so that he came to a stop in front of the line of friends. "Riku will pull up the portal that leads to the Organization's castle. On the other side, we will not hesitate at all to speak to one another. We all must split into our groups and try to find your target. Deal with them as quick as you can, this whole plan lies on pins and needles." This side of Mickey was one that people barely saw, besides Riku, Donald, and Goofy. The mouse was completely serious, a grim light in his eyes and a brisk tone it his voice. Like everybody else, he knew the severity of the situation.

"Is everybody ready?" Mickey prompted, taking a moment to look at each person fully, as if committing them to memory. The thought made Riku smile somewhat to himself. If Mickey thought that one of them would not return, he was going to be mistaken. This group of people would come back, full as ever. Riku knew that for a fact now. "Right then." Mickey said, stepping to the side and locking eyes with Riku. "Whenever you're ready, Riku."

He had been ready ever since he first saw Sora getting captured by the Organization. Before then, he let his pride take the better of him, ensuring to himself that Sora would be fine. Out in a day at least, two at the most. But now that he had seen the error of his ways, he was more than ready to make up for them. He would finish off Xaldin faster than the man knew what had hit him. He would find him and make the man wish he had never been born.

Shaking it off, he dipped his head to Mickey, striding forward and throwing his hand out in front of him, eyes narrowing. A dark, swirling portal appeared in front of him, dark colors whirling and mixing together. _This is it. _He thought to himself, staring into the dark depths of the shadows. Sora is at the end of this portal, and this time, I promise, I will not leave without you. With that, he was first into the shadows, the blackness swallowing him up and hiding his form from the others.

But they did not hesitate as they followed Riku's example, people already weaving through the line to find their partners. Pretty soon, there was nobody left in the clearing by the Magician's house, nothing there except for a large shadowy portal, opening like a door to another world. Then, in a blink of an eye, the portal disappeared, leaving the place completely empty.

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Axel rounded the corner of the hall, green eyes small flames of determination as he walked on. Ignoring the nagging feeling of doubt dragging him down, Axel managed to walk the way he always did, showing nothing to betray the secret he had. And he hoped that it wouldn't show that he was carrying something else under his cloak, hoping it didn't show too much. But it probably did, the thought making him scowl. Realizing that he had passed up the door, Axel veered sharply backwards, about to knock, when a voice sounded down the hall.

"You looking for Sora?" Axel started, turning to see Luxord standing at the end of the hall. The blonde stared at him levelly, not accusingly at all as he waited for Axel's answer. A sinking feeling started in the man's stomach, a dreaded thought of his plan already being found out. Come on, it was barely a plan! How had they found out so soon! Axel was preparing himself to try and explain his actions, but Luxord's next words made him close his mouth rapidly. "He's not in the room anymore."

"W-What?" Axel asked, caught off-guard. Turning, he opened the door, looking inside as his eyes roved over the tiny room. Nothing was there, it was empty. Panic spreading through him, Axel kept his head stuck inside the room before he forced himself to calm down. Leaning back to looked skeptically at Luxord, Axel tried to make himself look irritated. Like this had ruined his whole plan of work today. "Well?" He asked, voice sharper than he meant it to come out. "Where is he?"

"Xemnas moved him farther up the castle." Luxord explained, Axel deadpanning. "So that he'll better protected. Frankly, I still think that Xemnas wants to bring Roxas back. He keeps talking about it, I'm sure it'll be soon." He suddenly shook his head, tilting his head to the side. "Shouldn't you be watching him now?" The man questioned.

Axel twitched. "…Get to work, Luxord." He growled angrily, turning around and stomping down the hall. But then he paused, looking over his shoulder irritably. "HOW far up the castle?" He said, whining like a little kid. Luxord held up five fingers before turning and walking away quickly. He obviously didn't want to be chewed out by Axel anymore, the man not blaming him. Straightening, Axel narrowed his eyes slowly. Did that mean the fifth floor, or five MORE floors up from this floor? Looking at the ceiling for a moment, Axel figured that Xemnas would want Sora as far away as possible. Gazing dimly at the stairs that were to the left of him, Axel huffed. "I hate stairs." He grumbled, marching dramatically forward and starting up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Rushing through the floors as fast as he could, Axel panted, taking as many stairs as he could. He passed the second and third floor easily, wondering how many floors exactly this castle was. The white stairs seemed to stretch on forever, and Axel was wondering if he SHOULD stop and take a look around the fifth floor. But he shook his head roughly, knowing Xemnas better than he gave himself credit for. The faster he got up there, the better. The news about Roxas made Axel's legs only speed up, desperation making him faster. He would not let his old friend come back, he refused to even think about it. And he wasn't going to sit here and watch Sora waste away either. He had thought that he hated the kid, as soon as he looked at him, Axel felt a strong feeling for him.

But he slowly learned by now that it was the same way he had first felt when looking at Roxas. The words Sora had said to him still made him feel weird, even now. "You don't need a heart. You can feel without one. What more do you need?" The question rang in his head as he sprinted up the stairs. He thought he knew what he was going with the Organization. He thought that it was the only place that would be able to make him have a heart. To give him his own person to be. But he was smarter now, he knew more.

Being with Sora made him feel like he had a heart.

Just like being with Roxas.

Panting, Axel's pace started to slow, the man rounding past the fifth floor. One more floor to go. Grabbing the railing, Axel remembered why he barely ever came up here. So many steps! SOOOOO many steps! TOO MANY STEPS! Shaking it off, Axel made it up the last of the steps, falling onto the sixth floor with a smack. At the sound of a voice, Axel perked, tiredness fading away in a snap. Pushing himself up, Axel followed the sound intently, green eyes narrowed. Knowing all well that he would have to go down those steps, Axel pushed himself to his feet, perked as he listened to the mumbling tones.

Following the sound, Axel peered around the corner, narrowing his eyes as he saw Xaldin, the man grumbling as he leaned against the wall, clearly bored and irritated. Glancing around quickly, Axel saw that the hall was empty except for him. Whatever Xemnas was thinking, he wasn't doing it now. Or he had already done it. The thought sent a thrill of fear through Axel, the man's breath hitching in his throat. Taking a deep breath, Axel sprung up the nerve to push himself forward, steps seeming to echo as he walked over towards Xaldin.

The guard eyed him suspiciously, saying nothing as he watched Axel come forward. But it was obvious in the man's face that he did not trust Axel, the red-head taking some pride in that. "Move over." Axel said firmly, nodding his head over to the door. "I need to get in there. Xemnas's orders."

Xaldin gave a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, right." He snorted. "I'll believe that when I beat Luxord at Poker."

"If you don't want to listen to Xemnas, that's your problem." Axel growled tensely. "Just let me do this, unlike you, I WANT to follow orders." When Xaldin refused to move, the man let out a slow sigh, hunching over slightly. "Fine." He huffed. "The reason I have to get in there is because Xemnas wants to reawaken Roxas. You've heard about that at least, right?" He asked, looking over Xaldin like he was stupid. Hesitating, Xaldin gave a little nod. "Well, Xemnas wants me to be the one to do it. I got Sora almost there last time I tried, now he wants me to do it for good. So…are you going to step to the side? Because I'm sure Xemnas still wants the castle guarded. There's no use WASTING time when I'll be in there." He glared sharply at Xaldin, waiting for his answer, inwardly panicking.

Glancing from the door, to Axel, it was a moment before Xaldin growled. "Fine." He snapped angrily, pushing himself off the door and stepping to the side. "But I swear, if I find out that you've been lying to me, Axel, you'll regret it." The words were laced with a dark promise, and there was no doubt in his mind that Xaldin meant the threat. Watching Xaldin turn and stalk away, he shivered, staying still and making sure his footsteps led him far enough away from the room. When they did, Axel turned, opening the door and slipping inside silently and trying his best to muffle the sound of the door closing.

If Xemnas came by soon, they would have more troubles than what Axel had anticipated for. And he had anticipated for a LOT of trouble. Blowing out swiftly, he straightened, turning around and reaching inside his cloak. Sora was sitting glumly in the corner, perking up at once as he saw Axel. Blue eyes round and worried, Sora rushed forward, looking at Axel fearfully. "I'm sorry!" He fumbled, Axel stopping as he looked at Sora oddly. "I tried to stay back in the other room, but it didn't work! Now it'll take even longer, I'm sorry." Axel tilted his head to the side, eyes flashing as he saw a shadow starting to show over Sora's eye, not needing to know the result of the boy's refusal.

"S'fine." Axel said, brushing it off as he withdrew a long box from his cloak. Handing it out over to Sora, the boy looked at the thing, confused. "Well, open it." He said briskly. "He have no time to stand here doing nothing. Just put it on over your clothes." Taking the box, Sora glanced up at Axel before taking the lid off of the present, letting it fall to the ground. Inside was an Organization Cloak, looking exactly like the one that Axel was wearing. Deciding that now wasn't the time for questions, Sora let the bottom of the box fall as well, taking out the black clothing and zipping it up around himself.

It was heavier than he had thought it would be. At Sora uncomfortable look, Axel waved his dismissively. "You'll get used to it." He said, pausing a moment before reached over Sora's head. Tugging up the hood, Axel made it so that Sora's face was nearly shrouded in the darkness, examining the boy as he turned a full circle around the smaller kid. "…That should do it." He said, seeming quite pleased with himself. "It's a little big on you, but that's good in this situation."

"Why do I have to wear this?" Sora mumbled, looking over himself critically. He wasn't sure he was okay with this.

"Well, that's obvious." Axel said bluntly, still making sure that Sora wouldn't be able to stick out at all. "We're going to try to get you out without a fight. That means you can't be running around in the open around here. You're going to pretend to be Roxas until we find whatever was able to transport you to the other worlds before now." Referring to the near-escape Sora almost got away with, Axel finally came to a stop, looking down and mumbling under his breath. "…Nobody will notice the shoes, right? Who looks at shoes…"

"Why can't we just go into the Realm of Darkness?" Sora asked in a huff.

"Because that would be just like putting up flashing lights and ASKING to be followed. The Organization wields the darkness TOGETHER, that means if one of us uses the darkness, the others know as soon as it happens. It's like a reflex, really. Trust me, I've thought it out, and this is the best way to do things. Soon, you'll be back with your friends and going on adventures. Silly stuff like that."

"Not all of them." Sora said bitterly, looking at the ground with narrowed eyes.

A flash of sadness went through Axel's green eyes as he looked down at Sora, wishing he could offer him a little bit of comfort. But this was the most he could do for the boy, he couldn't bring his friends back to life. "C'mon." He said, reaching over and putting his hand loosely on Sora's shoulder. Giving the boy a small smile, Axel said bracingly, "Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to fix anything, we can get out of here, but it's going to take both of us to do it, okay?"

Sora hesitated a moment before nodding, determination setting itself in his eyes. Deadpanning, Axel reached up, yanking the hood all the way forward. "No good. I could still see your eyes." He said.

After a long few minutes of waiting, Axel opened the door slowly, peering out the small crack he made, eyes darting back and forth carefully. The hallway was empty. At least, it looked like it. Opening the door fully, Axel stepped out, Sora following outside, ducked underneath his hood. The boy was tense, stiff with fear and nervousness as he took small steps behind Axel. The red-haired Organization Member sighed, turning around and kneeling down so that he was level with Sora's eyes. "Listen." He whispered softly, Sora barely even hearing his words. "You have to relax, or nobody is going to believe for a minute that you're really Roxas. I PROMISE you that I'll get you out of here, okay? I've done it like a million times before now. You just have to trust me, and relax. It'll be okay, alright?" He rarely showed his gentle side, and for the first time, he was glad he wasn't able to see Sora's face. He didn't want to see the boy's reaction to his words. Watching as Sora gave a slow nod, he straightened, turning and continuing down the hall confidently.

Might as well listen to his own advice.

Sora's strides became larger now, more even with Axel's as he quickened his pace. "Alright, now we have to go down a million staircases, so just stay with me." Axel grumbled, rolling his eyes in the process. Sora did not reply, taking to not speaking as he crept down the stairs beside Axel. They only made it two floors down when there was a sudden yell, making them both freeze, eyes going wide. Axel was first to turn, Sora staring fixedly on the ground, heart hammering against his ribcage painfully.

"Axel!" It was Xaldin again. Axel let out a small curse underneath his breath, asking why the man would not leave him alone. But he waited with his hands on his hips, watching grouchily as Xaldin came to a stop behind 'Roxas.' "Axel, there are people attacking the castle." Xaldin said in a rush, not exactly panicking, and yet not calm either. Axel seemed surprised at this, Sora straightening visibly. It was then that Xaldin realized there was somebody in front of him. "Who's this?" He asked, jabbing his finger down at Sora's head.

Axel blinked, hesitating before replying. "…Roxas…" He said slowly. When Xaldin started to grab at Sora's hood, Axel said quickly, "People? What kind of people? What do they want?"

Xaldin was caught off-guard at the question, looking back at Axel, hand stopping in midair. Sora ducked his head, scurrying over to stand beside Axel, away from the man. But Xaldin didn't notice, thankfully. "We haven't figured that out yet. They all split up, I was watching them from a balcony. There were a lot of them, all splitting up into groups of two. Saix thought that they're after Sora, he's making everybody come and guard the castle." He paused a moment before adding. "But if they're looking for Sora, they're going to come up short when they find Roxas here instead." He flashed a look over at Sora, eyes glinting.

Axel let out a sharp laugh, reaching down and grabbing Sora's shoulder. "Alright then!" He said with a large smile. "Me and Roxas will just go and-"

"Roxas can take up his own spot in guarding the castle." Xaldin said firmly, glaring at Axel. Sora's eyes went wide, the boy starting to tremble where he stood. Axel looked a little lost, green eyes growing wide just a little fraction. Xaldin shook his head, reaching over and grabbing Sora's shoulder, tearing him away from Axel. "Just because Roxas just came back, doesn't meant you two are joined at the hip." Xaldin snapped. "Go and take up a part in the castle, I'll find a place for this guy."

Axel looked from Xaldin to Sora, seeming unsure of what to do. Looking like was about to explode, Axel ducked his head. "Fine." He said softly. Glancing up at Sora, he added. "I'll be right back, then, Roxas." Sora watched with large eyes as Axel spun around and rushed away, sprinting down the rest of the stairs. Axel was leaving him! Sora felt his heart sink all the way down to his feet as he watched his friend dash away. What was he supposed to do now?

He flinched inwardly as Xaldin spoke up, eyeing him curiously. "You know, that didn't take too long." He commented, probably talking about the way that Sora had changed into 'Roxas' so quickly. "I would have thought it would take more time." Sora did not answer, biting his lower lip so hard that the metallic taste of blood started to leak through his mouth. Xaldin frowned slightly. "…Hello?" He asked, trying to peer closer at Sora.

Wildly, the boy's mind rushed back and forth, up and down. What did Roxas sound like! Were their voices close? At all? No? He might as well not try it. Feeling the tension in the air, Sora managed to shrug his shoulders in what he hoped was a casual gesture. Xaldin narrowed his eyes slowly, opening his mouth to say something, then seeming to think better of it as he shook his head. "Just go outside, find somebody to distract. Even if Sora isn't here anymore, Xemnas would be furious is anybody got into the castle."

Sora blinked, looking over at the way Axel had gone. Would he be able to catch up? He was going way too fast for Sora, who could barely run anymore because of his lame leg. Blinking, Sora's mouth pulled into a small frown. But he was aware of Xaldin's gaze trained on him, taking a deep breath and starting down the steps obediently. He tried to hide the limp he had grown accustomed to here, grimacing as deep pain lanced up and down his injured limb.

Xaldin watched the odd gait with a suspicious stare. Did Roxas always walk in a limp like that? Maybe he did and Xaldin just never noticed it. Gaze hardening, he shook his head, turning and walking back the way he had come, going up the stairs. Something was nagging him to go back upstairs, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of the place Sora had been transferred to early this morning. The door was open, not being bothered to have been closed. Curiosity getting the best of him, Xaldin pushed his way inside, standing in the center of the room and looking around.

But items that had been discarded in the far corner of the room made Xaldin turn around fully to stare at them. It was a rather small, long box that looked like it had been thrown to the side. Next to it, was a pair of Sora's shoes. "…Odd." He grumbled, going forward and crouching down beside the items. "What are these doing here?" A thoughtful look overcame the man's face. "It doesn't make sense." His thoughts flashed back to the scene back on the stairs, eyes narrowing as he did so.

Axel seemed torn between what Xaldin was telling him to do, and staying with Roxas. Usually the man didn't show his concern for Roxas that openly. Sure, they were friends, but Axel knew that the keyblade bearer could take care of himself by now. It was more like they relied just the same amount on one another, not Axel protecting Roxas. He was surprised the boy hadn't whirled around and smacked Axel clear across the face. …It was uncommon for somebody as hot-headed as Roxas to rely on people willingly.

And he refused to speak, seeming to flinch inside himself whenever Xaldin tried to even touch him. Well- he knew that the boy hadn't even particularly liked him, but it was never like that. Roxas had acted like he was scared of him. Slowly, Xaldin's eyes widened bit by bit, the pieces of the puzzle falling down in front of him slowly. Of course Roxas never walked with a limp like that! But Xaldin knew of one person who did. Slowly, heat rushed to his face, coloring it a deep red shade. Anger filled his chest, and Xaldin let out a growl between clenched teeth.

Getting to his feet, the man swung around, rushing out the room's door and ready to dash all the way back to Xemnas and tell him of his newfound knowledge. But he stopped short, freezing as he stared at the ground. Thoughts weaving together slowly, Xaldin's mouth pulled up in a twisted smile, nearly reaching all that way across his face. A slow laugh bubbled up inside his chest, void of humor. "Or maybe I just wont tell them." He said after a moment of pointless laughter.

Turning around, he stared down the hall and to the steps, where 'Roxas' had disappeared. Still snickering to himself, Xaldin slunk back to the stairs, trailing after the boy slowly. Peering around the wall, he saw that the stairs were empty. Sora had gone that far, at least. Weaving around it, Xaldin started down the stairs, still smiling in the twisted way as he crept after Sora.

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Riku, Kairi, and Cid were rushing through the rather-large city that surrounded the castle. The sounds of fighting around them were already picking up into a roar, yells and shouts clashing with one another. The others had fond their targets it seemed, and hopefully it would be enough for a while in order to keep the Organization distracted. Glancing over at Kairi and Cid, who were trailing behind him, Riku narrowed his eyes, catching sight of two figures rushing up to them. For a moment, everything was so dark, Riku thought that it was more Organization Members. But as the two people came to an unsteady stop in front of them, Riku felt a flash of alarm as he recognized Yuffie and Leon. "What're you two doing here?" Riku asked, Kairi and Cid finally catching up to him as they stood behind Riku.

Yuffie must have been running fast, her breath coming in something close to wheezing. "We could…ask you the same thing." She puffed, reaching up and wiping her hand across her forehead roughly. "We must have snuck past a million other fights. We can't find Xaldin anywhere." Her gray eyes flashed at this, as if she were frustrated that she wasn't able to swipe her weapon across an Organization Member's throat. The look Leon was giving Riku confirmed the fact, slightly disappointed.

Riku nodded, pointing back to the two behind him. "We can't find Xigbar either." He said.

"Maybe they're in the castle?" Yuffie asked, looking back over to the large, towering building behind them. It shed an odd white light across the city streets below, almost like a moon. Kingdom Hearts was also shining, much brighter than normal. It was nearly full as well, Riku having to squint in order to see the small sliver of it that was not filled in. His heart gave a small lurch, and he knew they didn't have much time. And it also wouldn't be easy to hold out their tasks, if they couldn't even find their designated target in time.

As if in response, Kairi squeaked with surprise, looking up at the sky. A few freezing raindrops were starting up, the storm clouds riding high in the sky signaling the oncoming storm. A roll of thunder made the earth shake, and Riku let out a small, frustrated noise. "It's our safest bet!" He yelled, over the noise of the now-pelting rain. "If they aren't out here, then where else could they be!" Yuffie nodded tensely at his words, turning and facing the large castle with a deathly glare.

Determination was set in everybody's eyes, and at Riku's signal, they all rushed forward as one, heading straight for the looming tower. This was their last opportunity. If either Xaldin or Xigbar still weren't found, Riku didn't know what he would do.

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Axel rushed through the castle as quick as he could, eyes wide as he stumbled over his feet at times. Leaving Sora alone was a bad plan, a REALLY bad plan. He just hoped that when he managed to find the boy again, Xaldin wasn't with him anymore. The thought of Sora alone with the place crawling with other Organization members that were smarter than Xaldin made Axel's skin crawl. Anybody else would probably raise a few questions, questions that Sora would not be able to answer with the way he was now. Worried green eyes flashing, Axel pushed himself harder, almost a blur as he rushed through the long, white halls.

Suddenly, a voice made him falter in his strides, staggering and ruining his entire pace. He tripped, loosing balance and slamming into the ground, skidding a few painful feet. Wincing, Axel grabbed his stomach as he pushed himself up slowly, one eye closed in a pained grimace. Looking up, it took a moment for Axel to try and place the person standing over him. But that was just it, he had no idea who this person was. He looked a little on the old side, but not looking weak at all. Strength seemed to pulse from this man, and if Axel had any sense, he would have started running from him.

"Who are you?" He asked, leaping to his feet and standing in a defensive position. His eyes were narrowed, jaw locked back as he stared down the man in front of him. But the blonde did not looked fazed at all, eyeing Axel with just a small hint of anger. At least the anger that he was going to show. Somehow, he seemed like the kind of people who never changed expressions.

"Ansem." The man said clearly, eyes glinting. "And you are Axel." He added.

Vexed, Axel blinked, lost for a moment. But then he recovered quickly. "Look, you're distracting me." Axel said in a snarl. "Let me pass, I'm not the enemy here!" But nevertheless, Axel's two weapons flashed into his hands with twin spirals of flame, the man crouching in readiness for the oncoming attack he was sure would come sooner than he would like. "You might think I'm with the Organization, but I'm not! At least…not anymore!"

"Nonsense!" Ansem shouted, not even waiting for Axel to try and explain. He raised his hand, a large wall-looking thing sprouting from the ground in front of the man, shooting forward and ramming into Axel. The man grunted at the sharp pain, the spell pushing him all the way backwards to the other end of the room, slamming him flush against the wall with a sickening thud. "Those with the Organization have no hearts. They are unable to make a change for the better. You are enemies of the light, a danger in the dark." Axel hissed, arms trembling with the effort as he forced himself back up to his feet.

"Beings without hearts are unable to comprehend guilt." Ansem said thickly, watching Axel through narrowed eyes.

Huffing, Axel growled, gripping his weapons tighter in his hands. Once again, Sora's voice rang in his ears, only reminding him more of the danger it was for him to stay here any longer. "You don't need a heart! You can feel without one! What more do you need?" The last words ended in a tone of desperation, Axel's mind getting the better of him in the tough situation. Sora needed him, and he wasn't going to sit here though this old man's spiel. "Have it your way." He snapped, crouching low to the ground. "But just so you know…you know nothing."

Ansem looked enraged, bringing up his hand, readying himself with another magic spell. Axel let out an angered yell that seemed to shake the whole castle, raising his weapons high into the air, readying himself to bring them down as hard as he could. This opponent looked tough, and Axel knew it would not be an easy victory.

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Sora was panting, shaking by the time he staggered through the Castle's exit, breath steaming out from his mouth in a small curl. Rain was pouring down from the sky, the boy soaked in a matter of seconds. The cloak was much too big for him in the first place, now that it was weighted down with the water, it made it even harder to move. Feet splashing through the puddles, Sora turned a full circle, unsure of which way to go.

Suddenly, he halted, catching a movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, the boy stiffened, eyes widening. It was a group of five, making their way quickly towards him. They hadn't caught sight of him yet, that much was for sure. Sora was unable to make out who it was, but the one in the lead was wearing an Organization cloak, much like the one he was wearing. Gasping sharply, Sora turned, turning right and rushing away as quick as his injured leg would allow him to do.

Blending into the darkness, Sora rushed this way and that, becoming lost in a matter of minutes. Finally, the boy nearly ran head-first into an alleyway, nearly crashing straight into the dead-end. Letting out a small noise, Sora backed up, hitting his fist against the brick wall in front of him, as if would move the thing. But it stayed where it was, getting in the way of Sora and making his whole life difficult. Hissing, Sora turned, ready to try and find another way to go, when he froze.

Though the hood drooped low over his eyes, he was able to make out somebody standing in front of him. Reaching up, he put his hand out like a visor, propping up the small dip in his sight the hood made. His heart froze as he saw Xaldin standing in front of him, smirking evilly. There was a nasty gleam in his eye, and Sora swallowed thickly, taking a small step back, pinning him against the wall as he did so. "Hello, Roxas." Xaldin sneered, voice dripping with malice. "I thought I told you where to go…what're you doing here?"

Walking forward slowly, Xaldin made his way for Sora, the boy panicking as he whirled, trying to see where he could go. But the exit was blocked by Xaldin, the man wearing a sneer of hatred across his face. Pausing a moment, Xaldin loomed over Sora, the boy shrinking as he started to slide slowly down the wall. Lashing out, Xaldin's hand wrapped around Sora's throat, yanking the boy up and into the air. The keybearer gaped like a fish out of water, grabbing Xaldin's hand and trying to claw it away from him. "Now, let's see who you REALLY are, shall we?" He presumed, reaching forward and grabbing the sodden hood tightly in his hand.

Before Sora could even try to stop him, Xaldin ripped the hood off of his head, revealing the junior hero's terrified face. He started to laugh, only making him hold tighter to Sora's neck. The boy winced, lungs screaming for air, and yet Xaldin's grip on him would not waver. "You really had me going there for a second." Xaldin chucked, shaking his head. "I guess the joke was on me that time, right?" He grinned, as if waiting for a reply.

When Sora only tried to find a way to suck in air, Xaldin laughed once more. "But this time the joke is on you, I guess." Drawing Sora closer, Xaldin narrowed his eyes, nose-to-nose with the boy. "Because this time, Axel isn't here to save you. And I'm going to make sure you will wish that stupid little key never came to you."

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A/N: OHMIGOSH, IT'S A SPIDER MAN MOMENT o3o

That's what I was thinking when I typed it anyway. …I never got KH stuff for my birthday. I'm depressed now ;^;

This is what happens when I get depressed.

Anyway, if you all review tons and tons, I might try harder to get on during band camp. I don't know how tired I'll be after the practice, and I don't know if I'll be motivated enough to update XD

HOLY COW LONG CHAPTER. LONGEST CHAPTER EVERRRR. NEVER AGAIN. EVER_. _


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Band Camp in one word: HOT. And…time-consuming.

But thankfully, I have enough day-time to dream, so I can rush back here. This chapter was written over a course of a few days, I couldn't really scrape up all the time at once in order to give you a HALFWAY DECENT chapter to read after the break ;)

For reference, I HATE using the word whimper. …I know I've probably used it before now, but still. I don't know why I don't like it, probably mostly because it makes the person sound like…a child? I don't know how to describe it. But whatever, just some food for thought.

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The fighting and clanging was inaudible from this height, and yet the witch narrowed her eyes at the thought of the confrontations taking place down below. Her hands clenched on the window's edge, fingernails scraping against the white pain and making a high-pitched scratching noise. Eyes dark and angered, the with watched the Castle's entrance with open hostility, just barely being able to see it from the high perch in which her room had been assigned to her.

The word made the woman's lip curl with disgust, and yet she did nothing for a moment, merely watching the scene down below with a more guarded look. That was all this room was, really. A prison, into which she had been foolish enough herself to walk inside willingly. Seeing what was in front of her now was enough to make the witch burst with anger.

She should have known that Xemnas had never intended to keep his bargain. Maleficent had been right not to trust him in the first place, and yet eventually, her own greed blinded her to the incompetence of others. She could have very well have exacted her revenge on the keybearer soon enough, without any of these black-cloaked people trying to persuade her into helping them. They were the ones that needed her, not the other way around.

Movement down below caught her eye, and the witch's eyes narrowed down into angered slits. A group of five rushed forward, heading for the entrance of the castle. Maleficent did not have to get any closer to realize that they had weapons. "The Organization is too feeble as to even defend their own fortress." The witch commented coldly, almost to herself. Words seeming to echo around the room, she turned around, fixing Pete with an angered gaze.

The cat seemed to shrink under her eyes, ears flattening close to his head. "This is when we leave." Maleficent said, making it clear she was not asking for her servant's opinion. The cat seemed slightly surprised, jumping nearly a foot into the air. He opened his mouth to object, but the witch cut him off rudely, not giving a care about his words. "The people storming the castle will be here any moment, we are to leave before they even know of our role in this event."

"Bu-But…" The cat seemed to be searching for something to say, coming up with nothing fast. Sighing, he cast a rueful glance behind him, as if he had grown accustomed to the large new Castle. The Castle that WASN'T broken down and crumbling in on itself. But he seemed to catch the vibe of impatience and irritated coming off of the witch in waves, ducking his head and mumbling what was guessed to be a small reply of assent.

"We'll leave these fools to drown in their own mistakes." Maleficent said thinly, going forward to stand in front of the cat with a scowl on her face. Though the cat was much taller than her, she had the upper hand, the air of authority surrounding every inch of the woman. "The keybearer will be ours soon enough, we do not have to spend another moment in this filthy place." She eyed the place around her with distaste, raising a hand and leaving it suspended in the air for a few, long moments.

Then, a wave of green flames rushed down to engulf both of the two people standing in the room, weaving back and forth, making the room shiver in the rush of heat. Slowly, the flames started to die down, until there was nothing left but a few shimmering, green embers on the ground. Maleficent was nowhere in sight, and neither was Pete. The two were gone, the only thing standing in their wake was the small clump of dying embers, sparkling in the sharp white light like small stars.

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Sora panicked as he saw the blackness edging around his eyes, pushing down and threatening to obscure every inch of his eyesight. He couldn't breathe this way, he was going to suffocate! He needed help! Where was Axel! He promised that he would help him, so where had he gone? Narrowing his eyes, Sora screwed his eyes shut tightly, buckling his legs close to his chest and swinging forward, lashing out and kicking Xaldin in the chest as hard as he could. The Organization member stumbled, letting out a grunt of pain as the breath whooshed out of him. Feeling the grip loosen from his neck, Sora reached up, gripping the man's hand and tearing it away from him with all the strength he could managed to scrape up.

The two fell away from each other, both landing heavily on the ground. Water sprayed up into Sora's face as he landed hard into a puddle, the boy gasping for air, the freezing breeze stinging his throat as he breathed in and out rapidly. Head spinning, Sora whipped around, blue eyes growing large as he saw Xaldin already getting back up. How did he do that so fast? Forcing himself to do the same, Sora shot to his feet, eyes narrowing as he staggered backwards slightly, trying to find his balance as he stumbled for a moment.

"I'll admit, I kind of underestimated you." Xaldin said, holding his stomach as he stalked closer to Sora. "I wont be making that mistake again, you can be sure of that." His eyes flashed as he spoke, and Sora gasped sharply as the man lunged forward for him once more. Having just a brief moment, Sora threw himself to the side, just managing to escape Xaldin by a hair. Eyes wide with fright, Sora flipped around, keyblade flashing in his hand as he raised his arms into the air.

Snapping them back down as fast as he could, Sora sliced Xaldin's hand away, the man drawing back with a sharp growl of pain. Getting to his feet, Sora's eyes slid down into concentrated slits, the boy dashing forward and slashing his keyblade across Xaldin's chest, knocking him backwards. If he could just make Xaldin get far enough back, he could make a break for it, out of this dead-end. Hopefully, he would be able to find Axel soon, or rather, people that would just help him. Didn't Xaldin say there were people attacking the castle? Even if he didn't know who it was, they seemed to be enemies of the Organization. If he could try and reach those people, they might find a little bit of pity in their hearts to try and help him. It was the best last-moment plan he could come up with, and Axel seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Planet.

The thought made Sora's swipes become faster, more closer together as he rained down blows on Xaldin. The man was staggering to the ground, pretty soon, Sora watched as he fell to the ground completely, a pained growl coming from him as he did so. Sora's head whipping up, the boy's eyes sparkled as he saw the end of the alley a mere two or three feet away. Giving Xaldin what he hoped was a heavy blow to the head, Sora jumped over the Organization member, a large smile etched over his face as he raced forward.

Adrenaline pumped through Sora's veins, and the boy's limp disappeared in the moment of it all. Pelting forward, Sora's wet hair slicked back against his head, turning freezing cold from the cold wind. Rain cold as ice stung back in his face, and yet the unwavering smile kept on Sora's face. He was just about to sprint out of the alleyway, when suddenly, he stepped on the bottom of the long black cloak. It had been too big for him in the first place, now that it was laden down with water, it was even longer on him now. Staggering, Sora threw out his arms to his sides, whirling them in fast circles with a panicked expression. With a wave of relief, Sora felt himself falling backwards to right himself, but suddenly, there was a hand on his back, shoving him down so fast, that he had no time to think.

He had nothing to do except throw his hands out in front of him in an attempt to catch himself, out of habit. Landing heavily on the ground, Sora heard a sickening crunch, but when he lifted his head to look around, he couldn't see anything wrong. He did see Xaldin, the Organization Member having planted himself in between Sora and the Exit. The boy blinked, suddenly feeling a small tingling feeling in his hand, spreading up to engulf his whole arm in the weird sensation. Hesitantly, he moved slightly so that he could look down, eyes slowly widening to be twenty times their normal size.

His right arm was bent at an awkward angle, no doubt broken from the fall he had just taken. Now seeing the injury in front of him, Sora's breath quickened, the small, tingling feeling in his arm slowly morphing into searing hot pain. Ducking his head, Sora squeezed his eyes shut tightly, left hand twisting into a strained fist. Shaking with the effort not to scream, Sora settled for digging his nails into the gloves he had taken from Axel earlier on. Teeth grinding together as hard as he could manage, a pain-filled hissing noise leaked out from his throat, the burning pain sinking through Sora like claws.

Xaldin laughed at the sight, crouching down and glaring sharply down at Sora. "You ready to give up yet?" He snarled, anger from his own injuries in every syllable of his voice. The boy looked up, face creased with pain and desperation. He opened his mouth to say something, but Xaldin cut him off. "Well, I don't care anymore." Reaching over, Xaldin grabbed the back collar of Sora's cloak, yanking the boy up so that their eyes were level, leaving Sora to be in a half standing-half lying down position. The movement caused his right arm to scrape against the slick ground, Sora letting out pained cry at the movement.

"Let's see how well you fight now, huh?" Xaldin growled. The Organization member raised his hand slightly, reaching back and throwing Sora back as hard as he could manage. The boy shot backwards, landing on his back and skidding through the nearly-flooded street, stopping in a crumple on the ground. Sitting bolt upright, Sora grabbed his broken arm with his good one, holding it to his side, only causing a sharper explosion of pain to blossom over him. Closing his eyes, Sora let out a small whimper, sea-blue eyes closing once more, trying to shoo the pain away as best he could.

His thoughts to try and repair his arm for the time being was cut off as a long spear suddenly whizzed by his hair, missing his head by nearly an inch. Gasping sharply, Sora's head snapped around, watching the lance fall to the ground for a moment, disappearing right afterwards. Whirling around, Sora narrowed his eyes against the pain, watching Xaldin as the man prepared to shoot another straight for Sora this time. Bracing himself, Sora got to his feet, letting go of his broken arm and willing the keyblade into his left hand instead.

He always used his right hand when he fought with his weapon, the hand he used normally, that he had grown accustomed to. He had only just started using his left hand at the start of this journey, but it was much easier with the aid of his Drive. This time, he didn't have any friends to lean against for help with that kind of problem, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Still shaking from the pain that flowed through him, Sora glanced at his good arm worriedly, willing that it would be enough for right now.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Sora ducked to the side, eyes wide as he watched another spear fly past him. Gritting his teeth, the boy darted forward, eyes flashing as he raised his left hand. Right arm flapping uselessly against his side, Sora winced, landing a few blows on Xaldin before he was forced backwards by another lance heading straight for him. Skidding back a few feet out of the way, Sora growled deep in his throat, pain only fueling his anger as he looked at Xaldin. "C'mon, you got this!" A voice inside his head yelled, Sora unable to try and figure out where it had come from. Ducking his head in a nod, Sora rushed in once more, seeming like the umpteenth time in a row. Suddenly, it seemed impossible in his getting out of here.

But Xaldin was ready for him this time. Cruel eyes narrowing with a smirk plastered on his face, Xaldin met him head-on, keybearer and Organization Member charging straight for one another. Sora made sure that he was not going to fall over himself this time, certain that he would be able to get through this one. He had killed a million other Organization Members, this guy was just another thing on his To Do list. But Sora's eyes flew wide with surprise, Xaldin lunging forward, hand flying for the keybearer. Bracing himself for the man to dive at his throat once more, Sora started to duck down, heading for the ground. But Xaldin wasn't aiming for that place, Sora realizing that all too late. The man stooped down, grabbing onto Sora's right wrist tightly, digging his fingernails in the already-injured skin.

Sora was in the middle of skidding across the rain-slick ground, pulled back sharply, the boy's feet slipping out from under him. Swinging slightly, Sora's mouth went into a straight, firm line, blue eyes remaining wide as he stared at the brick wall in front of him. Lower lip trembling, Sora started to shake even harder than last time, Xaldin looking slightly disappointed by the lack of reaction. Pushing it, Xaldin pulled up, picking Sora about a millimeter off the ground by his broken arm.

Immediately, Sora screamed, his blood-curdling shout making Xaldin jump, just making things worse. Dropping Sora down to the ground, the man grabbed at the boy, covering his mouth with a gloved hand firmly. Glaring at the keybearer, Xaldin snarled. "That was a mistake." He growled thickly. "Now every person in the whole world will be rushing over here." He had no idea if Sora was listening, the boy was still screaming into Xaldin's hand, eyes closed tightly as small tears beaded at the edges of his eyes. Obviously, the mistake was also on Xaldin's part, if he thought about it more. But he pushed the worry away.

This would all be over soon, no matter what Xemnas wanted. Xaldin was sick of it.

Before Sora could try and recover himself, Xaldin pushed forward, slamming Sora down onto the ground, pinning the keybearer down flush against the small river that pooled on the brick floor. Hand still covering Sora's mouth, Xaldin let out a dry laugh. "Maybe this would have been different if you hadn't been so annoying." One hand ducking back behind him, Xaldin watched Sora's expression change slowly from pained to alarm as Xaldin withdrew one of his lances.

Panic filling up every single feature in Sora's face, the boy tried to squirm out of the man's grasp, ignoring the painful ringing in his arm as he did so. Breathing turning quick and shallow, Sora watched as Xaldin pressed the tip of his spear against Sora's chest, right next to where his heart would be. "I don't want to kill you THAT fast, though." Xaldin said, voice a low mumble. "I want to WATCH as you slowly lose your heart."

And with that, Xaldin started to line up his spear.

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Axel skidded back on his feet, hopping back from an attack that Ansem had tried to launch over at him. The man did not seem to have been fazed at all by his old age, he was just a powerful as any enemy Axel had had to face before now. Wounds were shown on both men as they glared at one another from across the room, Axel's breathing labored as he huffed sharply.

Ansem looked over Axel with his guard up, obviously wondering how long this fight could go on before one of them was defeated. But Axel refused to be beaten. Precious seconds slid through his hands like small grains of sand, and the red-haired Member felt a flash of panic like a wave slap against him. He had to get out of this, and soon. It wouldn't take long at all for Sora to find himself into more trouble than he could handle. The kid was like a walking Danger Magnet.

Growling under his breath, Axel threw his two Chakrams forward, the things spinning straight for Ansem like two twin Frisbees. The man dodged the attack easily, watching calmly as the things spun right back around to Axel, who caught them out of the air expertly. Axel was growing tired, he was losing his edge. The thought made him scowl angrily, unable to fathom why the man would just let him go back the way he was going. He was growing out of the small worn-thin patience he had tried to withstand for this long of a time. He could feel himself wearing like beaten-up shoes.

Axel opened his mouth to try and reason (ONCE MORE) with the man, but broke off with a startled yelp. Another large wall was careening towards him, Ansem visible from where he stood behind the transparent magic spell. Knowing that he had no time to dodge, Axel turned around quickly, facing his back to the attack in hopes of cushioning the impact. But the only thing it did was make him crash forward, slamming into the REAL wall with a dull smack. Smashed, Axel growled in low pain, sliding down the wall slowly, cheek making a high squeaking noise as he did so.

Feeling a pain in his side, Axel held his stomach as he pushed himself up, a pained grimace on his face. "I think you broke a few ribs with that one." Axel coughed, fixing the old man with a look that showed an expression far more than anger. Ansem did not reply, waiting for the counterattack, poised to dodge already. Blowing out a breath, Axel tried to push the pain out alongside it. "Alright then." He said, straightening as much as he could. "My turn, then."

Letting his two weapons disappear in a small spark of flame, Axel brought his two hands together, closing his eyes tightly, mumbling out short, harsh words under his breath. Ansem's eyes narrowed at the sudden change in the man, a worried flash shining in his eyes. Concentrating hard on the task at hand, Axel focused on Sora, and the danger he could be in right now. He had to do this right, he only had one time. If it didn't work, this would just sap all his energy and leave him like a cooked spaghetti noodle. This was the most powerful spell he knew besides the one that would ultimately kill him, it was his only chance to gain space between him and his attacker.

Volume increasing in his muttered spells, Axel's hands whipped out, palms facing Ansem directly. "GO!" He yelled suddenly, large flames shooting out from his hands like thick rope. The orange flood of fire shot straight at Ansem, whirling up and around the man, who was whirling around, eyes wide. He tried to get out of the line of attack, but the fire scorched him in response, there was no getting out this without getting a good third-degree burn in the process. Maybe even more than that. Slowly, the flames rounded themselves out, forming a large bubble around Ansem, completely trapping him where he stood.

Axel let his hand go back to his side, wincing even more by now. The spell seemed to have taken out more of him than he had thought. He was nearly drained. But nevertheless, he could not have kept the satisfied grin on his face as he saw his work. Ansem was completely surrounded everywhere he looked, thick walls of fire closing in on him at all sides. The only spot that would not burn him was the small circle he was standing in now. Moving anywhere else would just be suicide. Amusement fading away, Axel looked around the now-trapped man, eyes becoming round with worry. "…Sora…" He whispered, all other thoughts melting away at the boy's name.

Ignoring Ansem's startled look trained on him, Axel forced himself back into a run, heading for the exit of the castle, green eyes glimmering with fear and dread. Going down the stairs without a trace of his reluctance that had shown before, Axel took the steps two at a time, despite the searing pain wrapping around his torso quickly. The door of the castle was able to be seen where he was running, a small black blotch showing behind it, the sound of rain growing louder and louder the farther along he ran. The door was open. It had not been open before now, Axel knew that for sure.

"Sora!" Axel hollered, as if the boy could hear him wherever he was. But by now, Axel was certain that Sora would be somewhere outside the large place. There was no doubt in his mind by now. "Hang on Sora." Axel said under his breath, bursting out into the open air, stifling a shiver that crawled up his spine from the freezing air. Soaked in moments, he veered to the right, hoping it was the right direction. With the city around here so big, Sora could be anywhere. The Organization Member just hoped he would get there before anything bad happened. "I'm coming, Sora, just hang on."

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

Riku, Yuffie, Leon, Kairi, and Cid were all running side by side throughout the castle, making quite a sight as they rushed through floors and rooms wildly. Still no sign of either Xaldin OR Xigbar, and it had been a good span of minutes for their search. They had nearly covered the first few floors. "This is impossible." Riku gasped, turning over and looking at Yuffie crossly. "We're never going to find them with the way we're going through things right now! We haven't even seen anywhere Sora could be! We've checked every room!"

"You're a real downer, huh?" Cid asked from behind Riku. Wisely, he ignored his outburst.

"You know the King would never want us to do anything like that. Splitting up in a place as big as this, where anything could be anywhere…that seems like a stupid plan, if you ask me." Her gray eyes flashed as she looked over at him expectantly. Almost like she was waiting for him to object. When Riku remained silent, Yuffie craned her neck, looking over the boy and to Kairi, the girl's face written with worry and sadness. "I can tell you're both concerned, but we have to keep a firm head on this thing, otherwise we'll all fall down dead."

You're one to talk, Riku thought bitterly, snapping his head back to look in front of him. The white halls seemed endless, and Riku was starting to wonder if they would ever even see a different shade of any color on the walls or floors. So far, everything looked as though it had been bleached thickly, soaking in the chemical for hours or days on end. There was no other color in the whole entire castle, it seemed. Riku would have killed to see a spot of pink SOMEWHERE. It was almost hurting his eyes to look at the scenery around him.

Passing an open window, Riku could hear the echoes of fighting down below, wondering dimly how everybody else was holding up. Hopefully better than him and the others, he thought grimly. But suddenly, a small, faint noise reached Riku's ears, the man skidding to a stop, Cid and Leon crashing into him from behind. Eyes wide, Riku backtracked, rushing over to the window and sticking his head out, eyes wide with sudden fear. It was almost too dark to see outside, and yet Riku was sure as anything, it was what he had heard.

"What is it?" Kairi asked, knowing her friend too well to sense something was really wrong.

"…Did you hear that?" Riku demanded, whirling around to face the others anxiously. Their blank faces stared back at him, answering by themselves. None of them had heard what he had. "A scream. I'm sure that's what it was. And it sounded really bad." Hesitating, he looked over his shoulder down below. "Something is wrong, we have to go back down. Now." He turned, already running.

"Wait!" Yuffie called, Riku stopping in his tracks, but refusing to turn around to look back at her. "You don't know what's going on!" Yuffie said. "It could just be somebody getting hurt! We have a lot of potions left, Riku, we all do! It's nothing, we have to focus on our job at hand."

Slowly, Riku turned, anger written all over his face as he glowered over at Yuffie. "One of our friends are in danger, Yuffie."

"It could have been an Organization Member." Yuffie objected. Leon glanced at her, as if agreeing.

Riku shook his head firmly. "I know what it was, Yuffie. It's somebody out there and they need our help." He jabbed his finger out the window as he spoke, eyes dark. "I don't know about you all, but I'M going to go check it out. I KNOW it was from somebody in danger, and I'm not about to ignore them." Whipping around, he broke into a run once more, rushing back down the endless hall, eyes narrowed with concentration. After a moment, he heard footsteps quickening behind him. Turning, he saw Kairi catching up to him, blue eyes sparkling with defiance. Of course. He should have known better than to think the girl would have let him go without her.

One by one, the others gave in, running after Riku like the Domino Effect. Pretty soon, they were all retracing their steps back the way they had come, quick as a whip. Riku was in lead, chasing after the voice he had heard like a faint whisper in the back of his mind. Narrowing his eyes, Riku found himself hoping that what he had heard was in fact something real, somebody in danger and not them walking into a trap. And yet, he was also hoping it was noting, the thought of losing anybody during this mission making his skin crawl.

And he also hoped that whatever it was…whatever situation…they would not be too late in coming to the rescue.

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

A/N: **And as long as I can feel you, holding on…I wont fall…Even if you said I was wrong! I'm not perfect, but I keep trying! 'Cause that's what I said I would do, from the start!**

Little Perfect by Hedley up there o3o

Crap. I'm up way past my time limit for Marching Band…so I'm sorry for the cliffhanger.

I'm SO sorry to say…cliffhanger will be in the next chapter as well. I'm so sorry, it can't be avoided. I've tried thinking it over a different way, I just…cant : (

I hope you liked this though! It's all I thought about during marching band! That and the fact the stupid Football players wont stop yelling at from across the field. Things like: "EW! BAND CAMP!" And "BAND RIGHT, LEFT!" It's annoying. I wanna kill them all. Slowly o-o

I SHALL UPDATE FASTER IF YOU REVIEW TONS!

HOLY CRAP, EVERYBODY. MY SISTER EXITED MY TAB FOR MICROSOFT WORD, AND IT WOULDN'T LET ME REOPEN IT. I WAS SO MAD, IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT BACK ON! BUT I DID, SO I THINK I DESERVE SOME CREDIT FOR THAT, BECAUSE THE COMPUTER WAS BEING STUPID XDD


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: …I have been waiting for this chapter. This chapter is the first thing I thought of when making this story, this chapter sort of…MADE this story. I've been looking forward to this part ever since I first started typing. So…hopefully I shall do it justice. O3o

I actually did the impossible! I made a friend in marching band! I wont say her name, but she loves anime, and loves writing! So that will be good, because before that when we all went to Silkey's for an Ice Cream Social, I was standing off to the side with a small little frown on my face, watching my ice cream melt little by little while everybody was with their friends. …Really sad, actually….

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

Axel sprinted down the rest of the stairs, green eyes narrowed into a death glare as he raced down the slope as fast he could without falling. Filling with horror, dread, and nervousness, Axel jumped the rest of the staircase, a shock shooting up his spine as he landed hard on the ground. Whipping his head back up, Axel rushed out the open door, immediately getting poured on by icy rain. He was surprised it wasn't snow, the rain was cold enough to be the large, flaky bits of white. And yet the farther Axel ran, he realized that the water would probably turn into hail pretty soon.

Rushing across the street, Axel's ears were filled with rumbling thunder, accompanied with shouts and clangs of fights going on all spread out through the usually-empty city streets. Spotting one up ahead, Axel skidded to a stop, eyes widening with a burst of panic. How was he supposed to do this! Cursing under his breath, the man reached backwards, gripping the back of his hood and yanking it up over his head snugly. At least he wouldn't be recognized by the other Organization Members. If they saw him, questions would rise, if they didn't know the answer already. And if they saw him rush past, they would most likely break from the fight to follow him. He didn't need followers, he was already winging it in which way he would go.

Agonizingly, Axel slowed his pace to a slow walk, keeping to the shadows and blending in as much as he could. Immediately he recognized Sora's two little friends he always ran around with. He didn't know their names, and yet it was enough to make Axel stop in his tracks. He had seen the two die, he had been standing a good two feet away and watched as they stopped breathing! How were they here now! Every bit of their injuries had vanished from trace, and as of now, they were weaving together back and forth, in perfect sync. Luxord was weakening, and Axel realized with a pang that it would be no time at all before the Organization Member was done for.

He was obviously thinking the same thing, eyes slightly panicked as he tried to dodge the attacks from the duck and the dog. Looking at them now, Axel had to admit that the display of fighting was really impressive, enough to match Sora's own. The team had obviously been unstoppable together, which was why the Organization had to seclude Sora from the others for this whole plan to work. The thought snatched Axel back to reality, the fire-wielder jumping as he whirled, walking more briskly now as he left the fight scene behind. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had gone by unnoticed, he was sure that the next time, he would not be so lucky.

If he could even know where he was going. He had been wandering around in the pouring rain for a good ten minutes now. The idea of him getting side-tracked nearly making his heart freeze over. He had to do this fast, but he couldn't know where Sora would be! The city was a lot bigger than it looked when you were walking around down below the castle, Axel should have known this, considering he had been here for most of his life. IF you could call it a life, really. Sora could be anywhere around here, and the fact that Axel had no idea where to go coupled with the fact that he didn't know what he would find when he got there was enough for the man to tear out all of his hair in one tug.

Growling, he took the other way around, changing directions to go right, increasing his stride. The clangs of a fight were branched off to the left already, Axel was sure that he would rather not go that way, in risk of being followed. For a moment, Axel considered doubling back to Sora's friends and telling them where the boy was, or rather that Axel had been trying to find him somewhere along here. And yet, the man that Axel had faced had to have been with the group. If he hadn't listened to Axel's story, who was to say the others wouldn't do the same? Especially considering that those two people had been previously 'killed' by the Organization. Axel guessed that it was enough to make some person hate the group. He knew that he would feel the same way. A LITTLE bit ticked off. Which probably explained all of the fights mapped out around the city street.

Suddenly, a large cry sounded loudly behind Axel, the man reeling at the large call. Whirling around, hope flashed through the man's green eyes for a moment, thinking wildly that Sora had come back on his own. But nobody rounded the corner towards him, and Axel realized that the call had NOT been for him. It was a cry of triumph, not one of welcome or pain. Wincing slightly underneath the cover of his cloak, Axel realized what that meant. It was not in any voice he recognized. Somebody from the Organization was dead. And pretty soon, others would follow.

He would too, if he didn't get moving soon enough.

Ducking his head, Axel turned, pushing away the fear for himself. He had another person to worry about. A kid that sure as heck didn't belong within a million yards of this place. He was the kind of annoying brat that barked back at dogs just to see their reaction, one to make a point to rush outside in rain or snow just for the feeling of getting wet. One that would do anything to make you happy, and one that would sit with you contentedly when you were upset. Being here was making him turn all upside down, and Axel didn't like it one bit.

If Sora was somewhere around here, he would hiding, that was for sure. Unless he had found out that his friends were here, and he was with them. Which made Axel's presence here completely for nothing. But he shook his head firmly, mouth creasing into a thin line. He wouldn't believe that. He had a nagging feeling that Sora was in danger, he refused to believe that everything was fine. Deciding to trust his gut on this one, Axel broke into a run, wet hair drooping under the new weight of the water. The sound of thunder growled loudly around him, shaking the earth as he sprinted through a new street.

Lightning followed the rumbling roar, and Axel skidded to stop, blinking rapidly as he turned his head rapidly to the side. The flash of white light lit up the city around him, and in that half-second, the world lit up to look as if it were daytime. In the darkness, it had been nearly invisible, Axel would have gone straight past it without a second thought. But the lightening washed the alley with light, showing that there was another direction to check other than going straight forward. Hesitating, Axel eyed the alley, now blanketed once more with shadows. He couldn't see anything inside of it.

He shook his head. There could be an ambush there waiting. If Sora was there, Axel would have known by now. There would have been a noise or something to signal his being there. He would have called out to him. Shaking himself, Axel started up running again, heading away from the small, narrow place. But then he skidded to a stop, eyes flying open as he heard a small, almost muffled yelp sounding from behind. Spinning, Axel's eyes landed on the alley, where the voice had come from. Almost as soon as the sound reached his ears, Axel heard a sudden intake of a breath, then a dull thud.

Eyes blazing at once, Axel's weapons sparked into his hands at once, the man gripping them with a death hold so hard that his knuckles turned white underneath his gloves. Rushing forward much faster than before, the man sprinted into the alleyway, eyes flashing as he saw the scene inside. Letting out a roar of anger and rage, Axel threw himself forward without hesitation, crashing straight into the person in front of him, blinded by anger as he slammed his weapon down as hard as he could.

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

Pain was all Sora could comprehend by now. The boy had been tossed back into the alley wall a short moment ago, after his yell of help that was cut short. He had known somebody was there, had they come? Sora could barley tell what was going on around him, could barely hear. His eyes were closed, the boy curled close to himself like he was sleeping. His chest jerked unevenly up and down, trying to drink in enough air for his head to stop whirling and spinning, but he couldn't. All he could do was keep himself from falling asleep, from letting his head fall backwards, to stop trying and give up. A small spark of flame kindled in the back of his stomach, just a small mark of the determination he had before he came here. The voice in his head willed him frantically to get up, keep fighting, because Xaldin was just going to keep coming back. But Sora shied away from the voice, ducking his head and screwing his eyes shut tightly as another wave of pain slammed into him.

Letting out a small cry of pain, Sora's shoulders shook. Though the rain chilled him to the bone, the blood that was rapidly clotting and staining through his clothes did enough to make him feel sticky and hot. His thoughts were muddled, as clear as mud, and the boy felt himself unwillingly start to go limp. But…did he really want to fight it anymore? There was no hope for him at all anymore. Axel was gone…Donald….Goofy…Kairi…they were all gone from his life, along with everything else that the keybearer held near and dear to his heart. The only thing he had waiting for him was fighting more heartless. Then just being killed afterwards anyway. It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore. Not to him. Not anymore.

Waves of agony crashing against him like waves on a beach, tears leaked down across Sora's cheeks, red mixing in with the color. The streams of water left behind small, clean trails behind them, tingeing dark scarlet a light pink in their wake. Trembling, Sora opened his mouth, clumsily speaking in a low, hoarse whisper. Nobody was around to hear it, he didn't know what Xaldin was doing. Whether he was watching Sora slowly die, or he was just readying himself to start all over again, Sora had no clue. Shakily, the boy curled even tighter to himself, the action only making his wounds worse as he did so. "I'm sorry." He whispered tightly.

He was sorry that he wasn't a good keyblade bearer. That he would never be able to become a full, true, hero. That he would never know whether or not Ariel got to be with her prince. That he would never be able to see Pooh remember him. The thought was enough to break Sora's heart, and the boy flinched as he felt a searing ache slice through his chest. Maybe it was just the pain that was making his thoughts so muddled and different. But he realized that it was better that way. He didn't want Pooh to remember him. He didn't want anybody to remember him.

Closing his eyes, Sora found that it was easier than he had anticipated, in his going slack. He went completely limp, like a rag doll, not moving unless somebody did it for him. His head drooped forward, the water pooling over the ground nearly covering his mouth it was so deep. Stomach rising and falling sharply, Sora tried to breathe evenly, only making the boy jerk forward, coughing weakly into his knees. From the muffled senses of hearing he could muster, Sora heard something fall to the ground right next to him. He probably would have missed it if not the large wave of water that crashed into him.

A small ringing sounded in his ear, Sora's forehead creasing slightly at the annoying noise. It steadily grew louder, with it, a rumbling sort of noise, like an animal growling. Slowly, he realized what it was…it was the thunder. But the noise…what was the noise? Sora forced his eyes to open, blurred shapes and dark colors swirling around in front of him. How was he supposed to make sense of all these colors? It was pitch dark, he couldn't even remember where he was!

"…ra!" The voice gradually came into the boy's hearing, Sora having no time to do anything before he was picked up from the ground by his shoulders. A smudge of a face came into view, Sora just recognizing the smudged color of red. "Sora!" The figure yelled, shaking him gently, as if trying to jar him into attention. "Sora! Come on! Get up! You can do it!"

Slowly, a small, weak grin came over his face. "…Axel?" He said, voice rasping in his throat as hope entered his voice.

Axel blinked, eyes wide pools of sadness and guilt. "Yeah- it's me. I'm here now."

"…sorry…" Sora mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"Hey! S-Stop that right now!" Axel said, arms warning him of their tiredness. They were going to fall in on themselves soon, he barely had the strength to hold Sora upright like this. Wounds almost as dangerous as Sora's, Axel felt exhaustion weigh him down like a heavy blanket. He felt his body failing, and he knew he was going to be in Sora's shoes if things went on like this. "We have to go right now! Come on!"

"Xal…Xa-" Sora broke off in a hacking cough, body going into spasms.

Axel got the notion, eyes flickering over to the spot in the alleyway where the man had fallen not moments before. It was empty now. "He's gone." Axel said firmly, shouldering Sora once more as he tried in vain to get the boy to wake up more. A strange tear of sadness in his chest, Axel's grip on Sora tightened. "We have to go. We can find your friends, they're here, Sora, I saw them. We just…we just have to keep going okay? Get up, please!" He cast a nervous look over his shoulder.

A wave of guilt seemed to flood Sora's half-awake face. "…can't…" He managed.

Cursing under his breath, Axel glanced out of the alley, narrowing his eyes with determination. He had come this far, he would be ridiculous if he stopped trying now. Summoning up as much strength as he could, Axel scooped his hands underneath Sora, picking him up in his arms like a father would do to a sleeping child. Staggering under the weight, Axel winced, the strain only making his injuries worse. Ansem was a strong fighter, and in their brief fight, Xaldin had given Axel nasty, gaping wounds. He had more wounds than there were clouds in the sky right now, and yet he refused to stop. He was going to make this thing, no matter what happened.

Walking slowly, Axel's face was set in a pained grimace as he went along, footsteps slow and weighted as he plodded forward. Head ducked down, Axel set his teeth together tightly, willing himself the strength and endurance he would need. He was running out of energy, and he was only just coming out of the alley. Looking down, a flash of lightening made the world turn bright once more, lighting up Sora's beaten and bloody state. The boy seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness, blue eyes fluttering open every once and a while, foggy and glazed. Axel had to hurry, otherwise he didn't think Sora would make it.

Quickening his pace, Axel squinted his eyes through the blinding rain, straining to catch sight of something in the distance, something to guide his way. And yet, the sheet was like a curtain, blocking his view and everything else he needed, like sound. Retracing his steps, Axel finally made it back to the place he had seen Sora's two friends. He opened his mouth to call out, but he stopped, thunder growling thick behind him as he realized that the place was empty. There wasn't a soul there. They must have left to find other enemies to help defeat. "No…" He whispered, turning a full circle.

"NO! COME BACK!" Axel yelled, the roar of the rain around him drowning out his words. Beginning to panic, Axel looked down at Sora, eyes wide as he realized the teen had slacked almost all the way. Axel had to look hard at the boy's chest to see it twitch ever so slightly in a small breath. Sora was in danger, and now Axel had no leads on where to go. They didn't have time to wander! They needed help now! Staggering backwards, Axel reeled, trying to see through the darkness. "HELP!" He screamed, the usually-proud Nobody resorting to calling out desperately. "HELP! SORA NEEDS HELP! OVER HERE!" The incessant thunder drowned most of his words, Axel feeling panicked all the way by now.

Sora did not move at the sudden volume, not even budging where he laid slanted in Axel's arms. The boy was getting much too heavy by now, and Axel looked at a loss of what to do. His body felt like lead, weighted down and useless. Sora started to slip from his grasp, and Axel's legs started to collapse underneath him. Gasping sharply, Axel lurched, forcing himself to break into a run, scrambling forward as he tried to keep Sora in his arms. The boy was dead to everything, eyes closed and a pained look on his face.

Stumbling, Axel's foot caught in his stumbling run, finally giving out and buckling uselessly forward. Hissing, Axel twisting in midair just in time, landing on his back and saving Sora from the fall. Back burning through his clothes, Axel skidded a few feet forward before coming to a stinging stop. Gasping for air, Axel lost his grip on Sora, the kid lurching backwards, landing on his left side limply, facing Axel.

The man thought that Sora was gone, until the brunette forced his eyes open slowly, unfocused as he tried to pinpoint Axel. He said nothing, the unimaginable pain written and creased across his face saying more words that he could even say. Axel closed his eyes, trying to will himself to get up, and yet his body refused. "I'm sorry, Sora." He whispered, looking at the boy with regret shining in his eyes. "I should have stayed with you…I wasn't thinking." His voice broke at the end, wincing away as a lash of pain whipped across him.

Sora didn't respond, breathing becoming more labored by now.

Axel closed his eyes, reaching out and grabbing Sora's left hand softly in his own. "It'll be…fine." He gasped. "We'll just stay here, and wait. This was bound to happen eventually." Pausing, Axel gave the boy's hand a small, reassuring squeeze. Only a small amount of pressure, which was all he could manage. "I wont leave you, alright? Just…just close your eyes. It wont hurt." His eyes were burning, and for the first time -for the very first time in a LONG time- Axel felt the strange sting of tears in his eyes. Sora was right after all, he could feel. And now he wished in all his might that he wouldn't have to bear this chest-ripping anguish that was engulfing him at the sight of Sora on the ground.

The boy stared at Axel for a long moment, the man wondering if he had heard him at all. But then Sora gave a small nod, tears marking a softer shade of red down his face. "Okay." He said, voice as strong as it had been since Axel had found the keybearer. A small flash of gratitude twinkled in the back of Sora's blue eyes, and Axel had to look away from the orbs that were slowly losing strength. He couldn't bear it.

Water soaking Axel through, the man closed his eyes, keeping his hand on top of Sora's, and waited.

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

A muffled world of pain and thoughts surrounded Sora. The only thing he was conscious of in the real world was the wet feeling of blood and water surrounding him. The other was the small, comforting pressure on his good hand, a presence made by Axel. His thoughts seemed to be sharper though, clear and mulling in his brain like a tidal wave of images. Sora watched his past journey flash through behind his eyelids, watching the quest he had failed to finish. He watched everything up until this very moment, remembering every single feeling along the way.

The attack on the cliff in Hollow Bastian, the alarm at waking up somewhere different. His struggle against the heartless, his failed summon attempt for Genie. The challenge that Xemnas seemed to show him, himself breaking free of the castle. Dodging through worlds. Coming up empty-handed in Hollow Bastian. The heart-shattering moment when Goofy and Donald died in front of him. The amount of frustration peaking his sadness at the fact he could not heal them with his one potion. His recapture, the moments with Axel…

Sora blinked open his eyes, forcing them to narrow so that he could see a little better. Wait a minute…he only had one potion. HE ONLY HAD ONE POTION! Like moving a boulder twenty times as big as him, Sora forced his left arm into motion, breaking contact with Axel's hand. The man's hand slapped into the water, Axel too oblivious to notice Sora's movement. Dragging his limb forward to his chest, Sora forced it off the ground, rising up slowly, painfully. Reaching into his pocket, Sora's hand reached and strained for the touch of the cool bottle. Immediately, his hand was dyed red as he touched his clothing, but he forced himself to keep going. It was the last thing he could manage to do right now in his state.

Finally, his weak hand wrapped around the bottle, the familiar touch making Sora shiver. Grabbing it as tightly as he could, Sora pulled up, in agony. It took a few tries, his hand always too lose to hold the thing, the bottle slipping like a bar of soap. Finally, he had it gripped awkwardly in his good hand, his only hand right now. Bringing it down, Sora rested his arm on the ground for a moment, staring at the bottle with deep pain in his blue eyes.

His breathing slowed, lungs refusing to work suddenly. Sora felt his body start to tingle, throat moving unconsciously from the lack of air. He had to do this fast. It took a long time to get the top off, too long, in fact. By the time the pesky top fell with a splash onto the ground, Sora wasn't able to feel from his chest down. The feeling was spreading up to his neck, and blackness hovered like a vulture on Sora's eyesight. Forcing his arm back into motion, Sora raised the potion, tilting it slowly so that he could pour it faster. Reaching back over, Sora tipped the bottle fully.

And watched numbly as the magical liquid spread over Axel.

But that was all he could manage to do. As soon as he watched the green potion spill out all the way, Sora jerked one last time, eyes widening for a fraction of a second before his arm slapped back down on the ground, eyes closing and chest going still.

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

A/N: **If I lay here. If I just lay here. Would you lie with me? And just…forget the world?**

…Yup :3

I hope you like it…I like it… :D

I like it a lot. : ) I loved the way this turned out for some reason.

I'm just amazed I managed to pull this off, considering I started this after I came home from marching band. Actually, it was a little after…but, that doesn't matter.

THIS STORY IS NOT OVER. I CAN SEE HOW YOU WOULD THINK THAT.

I have no soda or anything to blame this chapter on…maybe lack of sleep? :D

-gets behind my fort of pillows and braces self for freaking out- I'm ready. Fire away o3o


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: I now have made an official marching band friend. I am…VICTORIOUS! :I

So, now I feel bad for what I did last chapter. Because I was sitting on the couch watching TV after marching band, so I was really sore and hurt. My sister comes over and totally punches me on my right arm as hard as she can! AND IT HURT SOOOOO BAD! I started flailing and smacking her yelling, "WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

350? Maybe? O3o

You all know that a lot of time passed, right? I mean- when Axel and Sora were separated? It was like…a long time. I know it might not have seemed like a long time, but from Axel running around like a confused puppy, and everybody starting to win their own fights, a while had passed. That way everybody sort of completed their tasks XD (REALY DID NOT WANT TO BOUNCE AROUND LIKE A DANCING FIGMENT AND COVER EVERY FIGHT)

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Green eyes slowly blinked open, sticky with sleep and eyelids weighing a ton. Axel groaned, closing his eyes once more, breathing slowing down as he tried to fall back asleep. For a moment, he figured that he was back in the Castle, waking up before the sun had risen again. But then, he realized that although his body was comfortably warm, the heat was slowly receding, a coldness on his back growing more apparent that the gentle heat. Slowly, he forced his eyes open once again, confusion writing across every feature of his face.

Twisting to the left, Axel slowly became more aware. Enough to look at the small flood of water streaming down the city street, soaking him in its process. Slowly, like a puzzle, his thoughts clicked together to form what had happened, what had unbelievably slipped his mind. Gasping sharply, Axel remembered what had happened before, what felt like moments before now. Twisting sharply to the side, Axel's green eyes widened as he looked at Sora.

The boy was limp, unmoving, the water rushing past him colored bright red. The boy was riddled with wounds and gashes, Axel probably wouldn't have recognized him underneath all of the blood if he had been anybody else. "Oh, man." Axel said, words rushing together in the panic that was slowly overtaking him. What happened! Why was he awake! Looking down at himself, Axel's head spun as he saw himself. He was completely healthy, there wasn't a scratch on him. How!

That was when he spotted the empty bottle in front of Sora, the boy's hand wrapped loosely around it still. Eyes widening, Axel slowly shook his head from side to side, amazement, guilt, and the utmost of grief shining in his green orbs. "Sora, no." Axel whispered faintly, staring at the child as if waiting for him to say something back to him. But Sora remained still, not breathing and not moving a muscle. Reaching forward hesitantly, Axel grabbed Sora by the shoulders, lifting him up so that the boy was sitting upright. "Sora!" He said, voice rising to a yell.

The boy's head merely drooped forward, brown spikes hanging over his eyes by now, not the way they were usually styled. There was no sign of life coming from the boy, no sign of the usual happiness and peppiness that usually radiated strongly from him. He wasn't smiling, and his eyes were closed, lifeless. He wasn't Sora. He wasn't there. "Sora, you idiot." Axel seethed, feeling the all-too familiar wave of anguish come over him, the feeling that he had grown to despise. "Why would you do something this stupid?" He asked in a low growl, green eyes straying to the empty bottle, which was filling slowly with water by now. Why would Sora have wasted his last potion on Axel? It made no sense!

Closing his eyes, Axel remembered the brief flash of gratitude that shone in Sora's eyes as the two lay side-by-side, unable to go any farther. Why hadn't he said something else? He could have stopped him, Sora would have been the one awake right now! But, he knew for a fact that it would not have changed Sora's mind one bit. The boy had been stubborn, and there was no way for Axel to have stopped him. "Why?" He repeated hollowly, eyes green pools of misery. "I didn't deserve it…"

Ducking his head, Axel closed his eyes tightly, grief and anger mingling together. He didn't know how to react, he didn't know what to do now. Did Sora expect Axel to do something after he had saved him? There was nothing he COULD do. Sora was dead, Axel was out of potions, and all in all, there was nothing left for the Organization member to work with now. It was hopeless. "You made a mistake, Sora." Axel grumbled under his breath, desperate to break the ear-ringing silence pressing around him.

Slowly, he blinked open his eyes, looking up at the stormy sky intently. Though rain still hammered down to the ground, it had slowed considerably since the last time Axel had felt it. The storm was passing, he realized. The thunder and lightening had stopped by now, leaving the whole place silent. There weren't even any more sounds of battle, had they all ended? Nevertheless, all that was left in the roar of noise was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Suddenly, Axel's head jerked to the side, eyes growing large. Looking back down at Sora, Axel scooped his hands down underneath Sora once more, picking up the boy with much more ease than he had before, when they were both wounded. He was fully healthy by now, and new strength poured into his body. Turning, Axel started to run, feet pounding with a splash against the ground. "I'VE GOT HIM!" Axel yelled, raising his voice so that he was yelling at the top of his lungs. "HELP! SORA'S IN TROUBLE! YOU'VE GOT TO HELP HIM!"

His voice echoed back to him, and Axel hoped with all his might that the others that were around here would hear him just as clearly as he could hear himself. Sora was jostled in Axel's grip, the man tightening his hold and securing the boy's place. Rushing past the empty streets, Axel's eyes roved through every single space of the streets, desperately looking for anything or anybody that could help him. That could help Sora. There was still a chance. He told himself that over and over, ignoring the stillness in Sora's chest, the unmoving heap that had once been called the Fearless Keybearer.

"HELP!" Axel yelled yet again, voice cracking in on itself from his shouting. Pretty soon, he would lose it all together. He just wished it wouldn't be too late by now. "HELP! SORA NEEDS YOU! WHERE ARE YOU!" Frankly, he wondered how anybody couldn't hear his voice, but he shoved the thought into the back of his mind. His strides were slowly getting closer and closer together, he felt himself slowing down gradually. Despite the potion that had healed his injuries, he wasn't able to keep up this quick running for much longer. "SORA NEEDS YOU!" He yelled, putting all of his force into the last sentence. The boy needed all the help in the world, really.

Coming to a jerking stop, Axel huffed for air, looking into the darkness carefully, searching for some kind of movement. All was silent, as if Axel hadn't even done anything. Growling, the man ducked his head to look down at Sora, frustration melting away to be replaced with sadness once more. "I'm sorry." He said slowly, shoulders sagging. "At least I-"

"Where are you?" A faint voice yelled out, Axel jumping at the call. The red-haired man snapped his head up, green eyes blazing at the response. Could Sora actually get the help he needed after all? Glancing down at the boy cradled in his arms, Axel suddenly blinked, realizing what it would look like if the people found him like this. Bending down, Axel knelt down on the wet ground, setting Sora down gently in front of him before calling back.

At the sight of Sora, Axel felt a twinge in his stomach. Would that have been the last time Axel would see him fully? The last time he would look into those deep blue eyes? It didn't seem possible. It didn't seem right. His thoughts were cut off as he heard many footsteps sloshing their way closer to where he crouched. Perking, Axel watched the spot where they would round the corner, bracing himself. It was either they would get angered and mad, or too stricken to try and help the keybearer. Or do both, in which Axel had to figure out what to do then. If it was up to him, he would try his best not to let either Roxas or Sora down.

As the group finally burst around the corner, Axel blinked, surprised by such a large number. There seemed to be nearly ten people here! If you could call the short one a human. It was more like a mouse. Along with Sora's two sidekicks, who were near the back of the group. They all looked battered and strained, but none looked disappointed. That must have meant the rest of the Organization were dead, gone. The thought of everybody but him passing made Axel's stomach do flips and turns. Even Xemnas seemed to be dead, no matter how powerful and mighty he seemed have been before now. Without an unhappy face in the crowd, Axel knew he was the last one. And yet, what would the others do when they saw him sitting next to Sora's body? Would they try and make Axel follow the rest of the Organization members and kill him? The thought made him flinch backwards inwardly. He couldn't help wondering if Sora had just wasted his last potion.

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Yuffie and Kairi ran side-by-side, the two girls in perfect sync with one another. Riku flanked Yuffie's other side, leaving Leon and Cid to trail behind, letting them take the lead. No matter what Yuffie felt in her gut, she wasn't about to let Riku find whoever had called out first. They would do it together, or not at all. Glancing over to Kairi from the corner of her eye, Yuffie's features softened a little at the worried and flustered look that had overcome the teenager's face. "Hey." She managed to puff, flashing her a swift smile. "It'll be fine. It's probably nothing. Riku's freaking out over nothing, right?" She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Riku did squat to help her case, eyes narrowed darkly as he rushed beside her. Grim determination was set in his yellow eyes, and Yuffie had to hold back a scream of anger. His friend was freaking out, and he was doing nothing to even try and help. But then again, Riku's other friend was surely in more danger than Kairi was, the thought making Yuffie deflate slightly with guilt. Of course that was all that was in Riku's head, what else would the man be thinking about? "Hey, listen-" She started to apologize to Riku, but suddenly, he skidded to a stop, throwing out an arm to stop her in her tracks, Yuffie drooping over the man's outstretched limb for a moment before recovering swiftly.

They had finally made their way out of the castle, standing right in the large doorway of the building. Up ahead, figures rushed forward towards the group, Yuffie's eyes widening slightly with alarm. She had no idea whether or not the others had succeeded in killing off the Organization, she had no idea what she would end up doing if the group of Nobodies started coming after them. Could they face up to the whole swarm of them at once? Somehow, she doubted that they would be able to. Nevertheless, that didn't mean she wouldn't go down without a fight.

Swiping her hand back close to her side, Yuffie narrowed her eyes, feeling her daggers slip easily into her hands, the familiar feeling adding a trace of comfort for her. Leon withdrew his own sword, eyes glaring and angered. Kairi did not have a weapon, but she wasn't about to let herself be counted out, going into a battle stance as she bent her knees down slightly. Yuffie glanced over at her, noting mentally in her mind that she would have to fight close to her, in order to keep her safe at the same time. Just like she had done for Aerith many times over.

But Riku had not moved a muscle, and he relaxed after a tense moment. "It's fine." He said, pushing Yuffie's weapons down gently. "It's just the others." Yuffie blinked, surprised as she perked. Indeed, now that they were coming to stop in front of them, it was the group they had left what seemed like ages ago. Now, seeing every single person here and accounted for, Yuffie let out a quick sigh of relief. She had dreaded coming into contact with the others, and realizing that there were a few familiar faces missing. But though battered and strained, everybody was here and accounted for.

"Thank goodness." She breathed, a small smile straying over her face. They had finished one part of the task at least. Now that they were together, others were starting to use up their supply of potions, giving it to themselves at first, and then passing them around with a friendly smile. The small group that had gone without a fight looked on, waiting patiently (all except for Riku, who kept fidgeting) for them to finish. The person that was in most need of potions was the King, who looked ready to fall to the ground and not get up for months on end. Donald and Goofy were pushing and shoving to be the first to heal their King, and eventually, everybody was pretty much healed, a few scrapes and bruises still showing on their skin. Looking at them now, Yuffie remembered something with a shock. "We couldn't find either Xaldin or Xigbar!" She said, words stringing together in a rush. "Did any of you guys see them?"

Shocked looks spread through the crowd, anxious glances shared here and there. Yuffie guessed that even after the potions had helped boost them up a little, the prospect of fighting more people set their teeth on edge. Yuffie winced slightly, feeling a flash of guilt. The others had endured having to fight for the longest time, and all Yuffie and Riku had done was run around like confused toddlers as they gradually got lost in the giant building. To her surprise, Mickey stepped forward, eyes narrowed and face showing no shadow of doubt as he spoke. "Xigbar is already dead." He said firmly.

Yuffie and Leon started, eyes widening. "You killed him already?" She asked, puzzled.

"Nope, you beat me to it." Mickey said at once, as if prepared for the question.

Yuffie merely blinked, tilting her head to the side, confused.

"When you and Riku first tried to rescue Sora." Mickey clarified, pointing at the girl and boy standing close together. "While we were fighting, Xemnas told me that we wouldn't kill another single Organization member. He meant that we had already gotten one." Looking over at Riku, he gave a small nod. "I didn't know this beforehand, if I had, I wouldn't have sent you all out lookin' for him. You killed Xigbar already, but…" He trailed off, eyes widening on themselves. "I have no idea about Xaldin."

Silence gripped the group of people, glances of shock and dread being exchanged among them. Yuffie was first to say something, looking over at Mickey worriedly. "Are you alright, your majesty?" She asked hesitantly, knowing it couldn't have been easy for the mouse to defeat an enemy so great in such little time. "If you want, I can stay with you, the others can go after Xaldin." The thought made her stomach twist; she was not one to miss a battle. And this was one she had been itching for a long time. But the concern for her friend outweighed her anger.

But Mickey shook his head, Yuffie unable to resist a flash of relief. "I'm alright." He said, giving her a brief smile. "Xemnas was a tough enemy, but he's a brute. He relies on strength, not wit to win his battles." The smile faded, the brief moment leaving as well. His eyes narrowed and the now-familiar serious frown overcoming his face once more. "We need to find Sora. Xaldin could have him, and it wont be long before-" He broke off, blinking, gaze sweeping over the group in front of him. "Wha-" Alarm came into his eyes, the King whirling around frantically. "Where's Ansem?" He shouted, panicking.

Before anybody could move, a voice sounded behind them, the large group spinning around to face the voice. Standing in front of them, badly burned, and badly angered, was Ansem, the man's clothes tattered slightly, stained with ash. With him, the man brought a stark smell of smoke, enough to make Yuffie's eyes water. It was obvious he had used most of his potions, otherwise he would have been burned terribly. He looked untouched, despite the smell, which no amount of potion would be able to cover. Mickey started, surprise lighting the mouse's eyes as he stared at his friend. "Was that from Axel?" He asked, still looking the man up and down critically.

"Yes." Ansem growled, his calm composure seeming to escape him at the moment. Something that both amused and alarmed Yuffie at the same time. "I lost him, my friend. I have no idea where he is right now." Gasps and uneasy mummers traveled through the clump of friends, Goofy and Donald looking over at Kairi worriedly, who looked a little pale. Axel had been the one to kidnap Kairi in the first place, would he try and pull a stunt like that once more? A little subconsciously, the two sidekicks sidled over to stand close to her, as if protecting her from something about to come.

"You lost him?" Mickey repeated, shock clear in every syllable of his voice. "That means-"

"That means there are two Organization members left." Riku finished tensely, looking quickly from King Mickey to Kairi and Sora's two friends. "Two members that probably have Sora." When nobody made a move to add anything, Riku pressed on, eyes getting a little bit wild. "They know we're here, they could be doing anything to him now!"

Aerith flinched back, the most sensitive of the people here. The girl had never seen Riku lose control of his emotions, but this seemed to be pushing him over the edge. Blinking, the brunette leaned over, reaching into her pocket slowly. Her eyes flashed over to the man, who was still freaking out. She withdrew a smaller bottle of potion, the liquid different from the others that were normally shimmering inside the glass cases.

This was another kind of potion, a kind that would do nothing to heal your wounds on the outside. It…healed the wounds residing on the inside, if you will. Calmed you down. Aerith had no idea what it was called, she had been roaming the shops of Hollow Bastian when she had stumbled upon this bottle, buying it for a high price. But she thought that no matter what the cost, it would probably come in handy. It looked like Riku needed this now, Sora's friend looking moments from a panic attack.

With an episode like that, Aerith's friends would start to worry more as well. But as soon as she started to extend her arm, she halted, jumping nearly out of her skin. A voice echoed around the group, though nobody around her had opened their mouth. Turning towards the voice, Aerith's green eyes slowly narrowed in thought, the girl barely catching what the voice had said. Where had it come from? The only thing that Aerith knew was that the faint call had been enough to stall Riku's attention, the keyblade wielder straightening, swinging his head to face where the voice had come from.

Yuffie started, looking over at Riku with a raised eyebrow. "You think it's the same person?" She asked, though he did not reply. At Mickey's confused look, the ninja explained to the others. "Back in the castle Riku thought he heard a voice calling for help. We figured it would have been one of you guys. As soon as we saw you, I guess it sort of slipped our mind." Confusion settled in her eyes as he peered around the crowd in front of her, peering down the city street. "I wonder…"

"Is it Sora?" Kairi asked, breaking the silence. Her voice contained only a sliver of hope, as if she refused to risk it, only to be disappointed. Sympathy shone in Yuffie's eyes, and as the black-haired woman looked over at Kairi softly, she realized that she felt the same way. But of course it couldn't be Sora, right? The voice seemed too deep. Which meant it had to be one of the Organization Members. That or somebody else was here that the group of rescuers had not anticipated. The thought made Yuffie want to flop down on the ground and give up.

As soon as Yuffie was starting to think it was a waste of time, the voice sounded again, this time louder, more panicked. This time, everybody standing around was able to decipher the words, every single person's heart freezing over. "HELP! SORA NEEDS YOU!" Goofy and Donald were the most shocked, looking at each other through wide eyes as big as the moon. Mickey narrowed his eyes, anger rising like boiling water over his face. Riku looked the same, Ansem's eyes darkening. Aerith and Merlin looked shocked, as if they would be unable to move towards the person yelling out. Only Yuffie and Kairi seemed to have control over themselves.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" Yuffie screamed, cupping her hands over her mouth as she yelled out. Kairi's hands were clasped together tightly, blue eyes wide with anguish as she waited tensely for an answer. Silence gripped everybody in a chokehold, tension crackling in the air like lightening, and just as searing. The only reply that bounced back was another shrill cry of help. It sounded close, too. Standing still for only a moment longer, Yuffie grunted, shaking her head swiftly. Kairi following her like a shadow, Yuffie pushed forward, shoving everybody out of her way rudely. They could stand around as long as they wanted, she wasn't sticking around any longer.

It was going to end today, one way or another.

The others lurched into motion, following her lead. Kairi looked over at her, blue eyes wide with distress. "What did he mean, that Sora needed us?" She asked, voice seeming small all of a sudden. Yuffie did not reply, narrowing her eyes. She didn't know who had called out in the first place, making her all the more wary of the situation. Was this a trick? A plot to track the group down into an ambush by Axel and Xaldin? But what is it was real? She had no way of knowing, therefore, this was her best plan right now. Kairi blinked when she did not respond, turning back to look in front of her, eyes roving the landscape.

Following the trail of the voice, Yuffie rounded a corner aimlessly, hoping it was in the right direction. Turns out, she should trust her gut more often. Skidding to a sharp stop, she sprayed water up all around her, grabbing Kairi's hand and pulling her back behind her protectively. Kneeling on the ground in front of her was Axel, the familiar figure reminding her of the day this whole mess was started. The face sent a thrill of rage so great inside her, Yuffie felt like either screaming bloody murder, or tearing out Axel's hair. If it hadn't been for this guy, Sora would probably be with them right now.

At first, that was all she saw. And if it wasn't for Axel's eyes flickering down to the ground, she would have missed what was on the ground. WHO was on the ground. Yuffie let go of Kairi in her shock, hand straying up to cover her mouth. Her gray eyes were wide and her knees started to shake. "Oh my God." She whispered hoarsely, Kairi peering around her with confusion. The red-head stood rigid beside her, and Yuffie knew that there was no trying to hide it from her now. If her thoughts could even have worked that far to get there. She was frozen in place, barely hearing the others come to a halt beside her.

Sora was on the ground, unmoving and limp. It looked like he was sleeping, something that Yuffie would have considered, if not for the obscene amount of blood that was leaking out from where the boy was, the water colored a dark red that rushed past Yuffie and the others, dying their shoes and ankles red on the way. Yuffie's eyes were wide with shock, she felt the ground spin underneath her. It was only until she felt Leon catch her that she realized she had fallen. Kairi was stiff where she stood, eyes wide and shoulders shaking. Riku started towards her, arm out to touch her comfortingly, but he hesitated, head snapping around to look at Axel instead. His eyes burned with fire, and before Yuffie could even see him move, he had tackled Axel hard to the ground, pinning him there with a death grip.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Riku screamed, fury and rage shaking his voice back and forth. Axel's green eyes were wide with shock, as if he too were too overcome by grief to try and comprehend anything. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID, YOU SICK, TWISTED-" He was unable to finish the sentence, teeth pressing up and grinding together. Fisting his hands tightly in the collar of the Organization Cloak, Riku willed his keyblade into his hand, pressing it against Axel's neck. "You're dead." He snarled.

Mickey detached himself from the group, rushing over to hold Riku's arm back as much he could. "Riku, stop!" He yelled sharply, shaking the man as he shouted. "We don't know what's going on right now, just hang on a minute! Don't you be jumping to conclusions!"

"Sora!" Kairi broke free from the group, Donald and Goofy rushing after her as she raced forward. The girl completely ignored Riku and Axel, crouching down next to Sora's body, eyes glimmering with tears as she looked down at her friend with shock and disbelief. "No…" She choked, reaching over and pulling Sora close to her. It didn't look like it took her as much effort as it should have. The girl made it so that Sora's head was resting in her lap, and Yuffie's heart broke at the sight. "Sora, wake up." Kairi pleaded, shoulders heaving up and down with suppressed sobs. "You can do it. You did it before." When he did not even twitch, she sniffled. "C'mon, Sora!" She yelled.

Twisting, Kairi yanked out one of her potions, not hesitating before tilting it over, pouring the magical stuff onto Sora's chest, where it seemed like the worst wounds were. Staring down intently, Kairi waited for the soft green glow to rise up from Sora's body, in signal that the potion had worked its magic. But nothing happened. Gasping sharply, Kairi whirled, looking over at Donald and Goofy, desperation written across all of her features. "It's not working!" She screamed, words ridden with sobs.

The dog and duck looked down at Sora's body in shock, Goofy's bottom lip trembling as he stared down at the ground. Donald's eyes flashed over to Riku, and Yuffie knew for a fact that he was thinking that he wanted to attack as well. So did Yuffie. But she had to think about Sora first. The thought of them coming all this way to have found Sora dead made her skin crawl. Shoving Leon roughly, she staggered forward, landing with a splash down beside Kairi. She drew forward one of her own potion, muttering a small prayer as she poured the liquid down onto Sora, eyes filled with vain hope just like Kairi's. Nothing happened.

"What's wrong!" Yuffie asked, voice close to panic.

Donald reached forward, muttering out a swift healing spell. Yuffie smiled largely as a pink flower blossomed over Sora, the sight familiar from all the times that Sora had healed Yuffie with magic. But even when the flower vanished, Sora did not move. Twisting around, Yuffie searched the crowd for Merlin, gray eyes landing on him in less than a moment. "Merlin! Come here!" She begged, the wizard jumping at his name. But instead of just him advancing forward, the others did as well, until eventually there was a small circle around Sora and Axel, Riku still pinning the Organization Member down to the ground firmly. "The potions aren't working! I don't know what's happening!" Yuffie said in a rush, eyes flashing down to Sora's beaten body. "Please….is he…"

"The potion did something at least." Merlin said softly, eyes narrowed. "But it is odd."

Yuffie jumped, looking down closely at Sora. Sure enough, the boy's chest moved a half an inch. The potions had not worked all the way like they were supposed to. It couldn't be anything wrong with the potions, they had all just used them a few moments ago. They were all fine. But all these potions did on Sora was close to nothing. The thought made Yuffie's heart jump into her throat. If they couldn't help Sora, what would they do? He was their friend, right now it didn't matter what kind of keybearer he was. It didn't even matter that the worlds would fall into chaos. Sora being dead…it didn't connect.

"Oh…Sora…" Goofy said in a low mumble, tears leaking their way sloppily down his face.

Donald hunched over, shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"I SAID WHAT DID YOU DO?" Yuffie looked over at Riku and Axel, numb by now. Despite the King's angered look, Riku had the keyblade pressed to Axel's neck once more, eyes blazing and nostrils flaring. "TELL ME RIGHT NOW, OR I SWEAR THAT I'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT RIGHT NOW!" Yuffie winced at this, but when she glanced back over at Sora and Kairi, her heart split in half once again. The red-haired girl was hunched over, her forehead pressed against Sora's own. Tears left wet tracks down her cheeks, landing on Sora's face and changing from clear to muddled pink. Axel deserved whatever was going to happen to him, Yuffie knew that for a fact.

"I did nothing! I was trying to help Sora!" Axel choked out from below the keyblade. The group stiffened at the sudden announcement, all eyes turning to the fallen Organization Member, except for Merlin, who's eyes were closed tightly by now, still facing Sora. Knowing he had all ears, Axel went on. "I made a plan to break Sora out of the Castle today, I dressed him up in an Organization Cloak and managed to get out a few minutes without any problem. Xemnas was forcing Sora to fight the heartless in order to complete Kingdom Hearts, I had to get him out today, otherwise it would be complete and Sora would just be killed anyway." Kairi flinched at this, and Yuffie wondered if she possibly blamed herself.

Axel went on, fidgeting underneath the weight of the weapon still on him. "Xaldin found us, and we got separated. I was trying to find him again when Ansem jumped out at me." He looked over to the man, eyes almost accusing. "If it hadn't been for him, I would have found Sora sooner. But when I did find him, Xaldin already had found him before me. I managed to kill Xaldin, but Sora was badly wounded. We didn't go far before I couldn't go any more, I had to be carrying Sora, and my legs gave out. I thought for sure we were both going to be done, but I woke up again." His green eyes turned sad. "…Sora used his last potion and saved me. I woke up and he was already like this."

"You're lying through your teeth." Riku growled deep in his throat, eyes narrowed.

"No, he's not." Merlin said, voice subdued. Riku started, turning to face the wizard with a confused expression. The magician fixed a long, sad gaze onto Axel, who couldn't seem to meet the eyes. Merlin withdrew his hand closer to his side, which had been resting on Sora's chest, right over his heart. "Sora's memories show that Axel is speaking the truth. At least from what I could see." He added, eyes darkening.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Mickey said firmly, worried eyes pinning down to Sora. "The potions only worked a little bit, he isn't going to last very long. We have to go back to Hollow Bastian and take care of Sora there. We shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to." Looking at the boy's still body, the King's eyes seemed hollow now, as if he were losing hope faster than he had planned. "Merlin…can you do anything for him?" He asked, branching out as he looked at the wizard doubtfully.

Merlin ducked his head for a moment, not answering. Goofy and Donald had been staring down emptily at their friend's body for the past few minutes, not moving as they wallowed in their grief. But suddenly, Goofy drew himself up, an unnatural hardness entering the knight's eyes. Turning around to face Riku, Goofy reached out with both arms, shoving the rather surprised man off of Axel rudely. Donald looked over at him, but did not reprimand his friend's actions. It was hardly like Goofy to do something so mean, but he wasn't about to say otherwise.

Riku scrambled to his feet, flashing a furious look over at Axel before swiveling back to Sora, shoulders slumping. Axel pushed himself up, wetter than most of the others by far now, sodden cloak hanging off of him by now. He looked over at Goofy, waiting for the sidekick to catch his look, but Goofy turned back to Sora, not even glancing over at him. Guilt gnawed at Axel's chest, and the Organization Member broke the silence. "Please say there's something." He pleaded, catching an angered look from Yuffie. "I didn't deserve what Sora did for me. If he dies, I wont ever forgive myself."

"You talk like you can feel." Riku spat over at him, eyes blazing. "I didn't see you so regretful when you helped them KIDNAP Sora! Don't you start pleading innocence, you were red-handed! I watched the Organization, I saw what you Nobodies did to him!" Kairi screwed up her eyes tightly, pressing her forehead closer down to Sora's, shoulders heaving with sobs. "So you'd better shut up, if you know what's good for you!"

Mickey did not try and scold Riku this time, still staring expectantly at Merlin.

The Wizard finally spoke, raising his head with a saddened glimmer in his eyes. "There is one way that might work." He said, the others leaning forward anxiously. "A way that could jump-start his heart. But its risky…it might not work." He eyed Sora, watching as the boy's shallow breathing slowly started to recede once more. "It would be painful as well." It was clear in the man's eyes that he did not want to hurt Sora any more than he already was.

Silence reigned for a moment before Kairi spoke, voice small and choked. "If it's the only way, then it's our only hope." She whispered, still holding tightly to Sora, as if she could transfer her own strength through the boy. "Please, don't let him die, Merlin." Without potions, they were out of luck, if Merlin's magic could somehow make the boy come back to life, it didn't matter if it hurt him. Surely Sora would understand when he got up? The word 'got up' made the red-head wince away, as if the words had slapped her clear across the face.

The others slowly nodded agreement, desperate hope entering their eyes as they stared pleadingly at Merlin. The magician was out-numbered, and he wished that he had not spoke of anything in the first place. Sighing, he drew a hand inside his robe, bringing out a long, thin wand. Holding it so that the tip was resting right over Sora's heart, Merlin ducked his head, closing his eyes slowly. He looked a lot older than he was right then. And he was old. "I'm so sorry, my boy." He whispered, almost so low that none of the others could hear him.

Like a surgeon would do to a patient, Merlin hoped that it was the same kind of thing. Electricity shot out from the end of his wand, the jagged lines of white-hot energy zapping right through Sora, the boy's body jolting upwards from the shock. But still, he did not open his eyes. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy both gasped, leaning forward as if they wanted to knock the wizard away. But they held their ground, remaining still. Kairi jumped backwards before she could get shocked as well, stumbling backwards like she was blind, eyes round as she looked down at Sora. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and Yuffie had to look away from the scene. If only to keep herself under control as well.

The wizard repeated the process over and over, feeling like it stretched on to the end to time. The crowd watched Sora for any signs of movement, Cid and Leon's cool charades slowly dropping with every failed attempt. But suddenly, Merlin drew back, bolting to his feet and whirling around to Riku. "We must get back to Hollow Bastian, now." He said, voice tight. "We don't have much time before this could fall apart, Sora needs medical attention now."

Axel looked down at Sora, knees threatening to give way under brief relief. The boy's breathing had changed to normal, as if he were sleeping on the rain-soaked ground. Cid, and Leon immediately went forward, picking Sora up carefully, like he were made of glass. Riku drew up a portal, the crowd immediately rushing inside the Realm of Darkness without a second thought. They seemed to be braver than Axel had given them credit for. But then again, worry for their friend would have surely outweighed their fright of the shadow land.

Standing still, Axel watched them all rush away into the portal, waiting. He watched numbly as the portal closed off before he could go inside as well, leaving him alone where he stood. Silence took the people's place, pushing down on Axel and making the place uncomfortable. That was it? That was the last that Axel was going to see of Sora? Never knowing whether or not he would be okay?

Suddenly, a portal shot up beside him, Axel jumping to the side, shocked. To his surprise, the King stepped out of the darkness, turning and looking Axel up and down. He was alone this time, probably having to leave the group for whatever he wanted. Axel felt sick, was the mouse going to kill him? Had he not believed Merlin when the wizard backed him up? But then Mickey's eyes softened as he took in the state that Axel was in, stepping to the side and gesturing into the portal. "You deserve to be with us just as much as anybody else." He said. "…Maybe even a little bit more. Come with us, you'll be welcomed."

Doubtfully, Axel did not think so. But he dipped his head with a sudden sign of respect, brushing past the mouse and heading straight into the portal. He would still get to be with Sora. And surprisingly, Axel wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The boy might have saved him, but Axel was still going to watch over the keybearer. And he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

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A/N: ENDING SUCKS. I GOTTA GO LIKE RIGHT NOW. CRAP. XDD

Sora: GET ON MY PONY, I'LL TAKE YOU AROUND EQUESTRIA. AND ALL THE OTHER PLACES TOO! :D

Xaldin: I think you'll find that Equestria pretty much covers everything…

Sora: SHUT UP WOMAN, RIDE MY PONY :I

Search up Amazing Pony - The Animation XDDD


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: XDDD I have NO idea why all of those people thought that was the end of this story. Nah, I still got a lot in store for this thing. -Pokes the story title- o-o

For all of you who have never heard of Julian Smith, go and search up his video: Never get naked in your shower. …If you read this chapter while listening to this song, it'll make you laugh. It made me laugh. I was laughing too hard to type ;^;

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He was climbing up a long, steep hill, wincing and staggering with every step. Though he could feel his feet slap down on the surface of the slope, darkness shrouded all around him, hiding the scenery from view. He had no idea where he was, and yet he was content with not knowing. He didn't want to know where he was. For once, wandering in the darkness seemed to appeal to him, and as he proceeded up the hill, he did not even pause to look over his shoulder. Nothing would be there, he had figured that out a long time ago.

He should have been filled with heat with the way he had been trekking up this long hill. Normally by now, sweat would have been leaking down his face, he had no idea how long he had been climbing. But that wasn't the case this time. Freezing cold air pressed down on him, chilling him down to the bone and making him stop ever so often, rubbing his arms together roughly, in vain attempt to warm himself up. But it never worked. He was sure that if he could have seen what was in front of him, he would see his breath billowing out in front of him.

He did not know how or why he got here. He wasn't even sure he remembered what was going on before he got here. It was a haze, a blur and mess of colors that he could not straighten out whether he tried or not. He just knew that this was where he was now, would probably be for a long time. Weighted down like a million pounds rested on his shoulders, he plodded on, head ducked to look down fixedly at the blackness underneath his feet.

He had no idea where walking forward would take him. But he went on stubbornly, trying to ignore the heavy weight that was trying to pull him down. There was no doubt in his mind that this large hill lead to something, it was just a thought that wouldn't stop nagging at him. The hill couldn't go on forever right? There had to be something at the top, there WAS something at the top. That's all he had going for him right now, apparently.

But, no. There was something at the top.

And he was determined to find out what it was.

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As soon as the portal re-opened into the Magician's study, the room exploded into activity. Yuffie and Aerith branched off at once from the group, rushing over to the corner and pulling out the bed that had been pushed against the wall for the time being. Grimacing with the effort, Yuffie tugged out the long piece of furniture, Aerith scooping up all the junk that had been piled on top of the thing over the past few hectic weeks. With all the stuff piled in her arms, she blinked, looking back and forth aimlessly for a minute. Then she shook herself, unfolding her arms rapidly and watching all the stuff crash to the ground. But Merlin didn't react to his stuff being smashed.

"Set him down there." Merlin said firmly, nodding to the bed directly. Leon and Cid walked backwards carefully, nearly shuffling as they went back. Leon sideling over to the other end of the bed, he started to place Sora down on the plush-looking comforter, when suddenly Merlin called out, stopping both men in their tracks. "Wait!" The Wizard said sharply, rushing forward. "We can't put him down now." He said firmly. "We have to get him clean. Otherwise the bed will be stained beyond repair. We also have to make sure that his wounds wont get any more infected than they could already be."

"How do we do that?" Leon asked, looking down at Sora with concern. "This house doesn't have a place for that." His eyes flickered around the rather-small room, humming underneath his breath as he did so. If Sora got any worse, Leon figured that the world would implode on itself. Might as well have something else impossible happen beforehand. The kid was so light that Leon was worried a breeze from the air conditioning would make the boy flip out of his arms. Holding Sora carefully underneath the boy's shoulders, Leon could feel the boy's ribs jutting out like branches even where he held him.

"Couldn't you use magic?" Yuffie offered, titling her head to the side. She was standing beside Kairi, the two girls nearly leaning on one another. Kairi's blue eyes were puffy and red, an occasional sniffle coming from her. Riku stood next to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder as he looked on, apathetic. It was like he built a brick wall between him and what was going on, blotting everything else out around him.

Merlin hesitated a moment, not responding. "I could." He looked down at Sora with guilt in his eyes, it was obvious that he was still injured from having hurt Sora with his earlier act of magic. "Just put him down on the bed then, I suppose. I'll just have to do it rather quickly."

"You could use the table." Yuffie suggested, turning to look over at the still-cleared table that they had used for Kairi. "It's still clear from when we used it for Kairi, and we could clean it a lot easier than we could the bed." She paused a moment before adding as a side-note. "And it would be better because its bigger. We could have more room to help you out in bandaging up Sora." Looking at the keybearer now, she realized with a twinge the boy would need all the help he could get.

"Quite right." Merlin decided, dipping his head in turn to the girl. "Go on, Leon, Cid, just steer him back over here. After we're done, we can put him back on the bed to rest. I'm sure he's getting heavy by now." He added the last part in despite the way Leon and Cid looked rather content in where they stood. Normally, they would have been staggering under the weight of Sora by now. But he shooed them over to the side briskly no matter the way they looked, watching carefully as the men set Sora down lightly, as though the boy were made of glass.

As Leon and Cid drew back slightly, rubbing the red smears off of their hands, Merlin stepped forward, drawing out his wand once more. Standing over Sora, Merlin felt a flash of sadness, remembering the last time he had seen him. The boy had just discovered the fact of finding Ansem's computer, blue eyes gleaming at the prospect of finding out where his friends could be located. He had spun around, Goofy and Donald running behind in his wake, anxious to go out and rescue his two best friends. Nobody would have anticipated Sora this way. Starved, beaten, and probably worse. He hadn't been the one to rescue his friends at all, his friends had come together by nothing short of a miracle. And now they were the ones trying to save him. Before it was too late.

Shaking himself roughly, Merlin glanced around, relief washing through him at the fact that nobody had seen him in thought. Placing his wand over Sora's unmoving body, Merlin closed his eyes, mumbling out a few words underneath his breath. Opening his eyes once more, Merlin watched as slowly, a small wave seemed to flow over Sora. Starting from his head and heading down to his feet, all dirt and blood vanished from Sora's body, cleaning him swiftly and easily. It revealed the wounds that were hidden underneath, and Merlin fought not to wince away from the sight.

Sora's hair was drooping down low, darker now, as if it really had been sprayed with water. Droplets of water hung onto Sora's skin, and his clothes were damp. Eyeing the women in the room, Merlin made a mental note that they might have to undress Sora in order to bandage him fully. But for now, they needed to find the worst wounds that could now be shown after he had been washed to the best that magic could do. Looking closely at Sora's chest, Merlin saw that blood was already oozing out between the rips in his shirt. That was where they had to start, then. Turning and looking expectantly at Leon, Merlin watched the man jump, turning and rushing over to the drawer that was propped up against the wall. Reaching inside the top drawer, Leon pulled out a thick reel of gauze, returning and handing it over to Merlin helpfully. They would need a lot more by the end of this, Merlin figured.

"Right, then." Merlin said, handing the bandages over to Aerith. The brunette looked faintly surprised, green eyes widening as she looked down at the wrappings, as if she wasn't sure what they were. "Go on." Merlin said, sure of the women's skills after he had seen her in battle. "And Cid, if you could do me a favor. Rush over to the Corner Store and get more gauze, we're going to need a lot more than this one roll." The blonde hesitated, looking as if he would have liked to object as he looked at Sora worriedly. But then he groaned, turning and rushing out the door.

Sometimes, that man managed to have sense.

Reaching forward, Merlin grabbed hold of Sora's shirt, undoing it carefully, making sure not to pinch the already-irritated skin around it or underneath it. Slipping off the stubborn piece of fabric, Merlin looked down steadily, forcing himself not to look away, as he saw Yuffie and Kairi doing. Leon and Riku jumped slightly, but to their credit, they did not follow Kairi and Yuffie's lead, steeling themselves as they looked down. Aerith on the other hand did not react, calmly reaching forward and starting to dress the wounds. And there were a lot of them.

It seemed to be the most dangerous part of the boy's wounds, or at least everybody hoped that was the case. It was stab wounds, going along the line of what Axel had been saying before. But Merlin had not expected it to be this tragic, gashes decorating Sora's chest like sprinkles on a birthday cake. The wounds were already starting to bleed out again, if Aerith did not hurry, she would be in a mess of trouble. And Merlin wasn't sure there was any kind of magic spell for wrapping somebody in bandages. He wasn't even sure he would have wanted to use it nevertheless.

The brunette was known for her healing abilities, and she was demonstrating her skills right now. Her hands were quick and fast, eyes narrowed with concentration as she wrapped the bandages tightly around Sora's torso, making sure that it was tight enough to staunch the bleeding before it could get even worse. Moving Sora gently, Aerith made loops closely together, showing speed and focus that she normally did not show. Yuffie got over her recent sick feeling for the moment, eyes wide as she watched Aerith at work. No matter how long she had spent with her friend, she had never seen her so engrossed with tasks like this. It was a totally different side of her.

Wrapping Sora tightly with the gauze, Aerith made it so that the bandages stretched from the waistline of his pants all the way up to right underneath his shoulders, covering each and every single wound to the best of her ability. The actions had left her without a lot of bandages left, but it was the best she could manage on such a short and frantic moment. Tucking the last strand of gauze underneath one of the others, she stepped backwards, wringing her hands together anxiously, looking at her work critically. Reluctantly, she looked over at Merlin questioningly, eyes wide with anxiousness.

"You did brilliantly." Merlin said, eyes soft as he looked at her approvingly.

Blushing beet red, Aerith looked away, embarrassed from the high praise from the man. But then she recovered, narrowing her eyes as she studied Sora up and down. "He could have more wounds…" She murmured softly, thoughtfully. "We might have to-" A sharp intake of breath from Riku made her cut herself off, perking up and jumping as she turned. The man had let go of Yuffie, eyes blazing suddenly as he rushed forward, eyes narrowed as he shoved past Aerith rudely. The girl squeaked, only managing not to fall down right onto Sora.

"What are YOU doing here?" Riku snarled, skidding to a stop in the doorway. Aerith and the others started, turning to pin their eyes over to where Riku stood. The door was open, Mickey standing in front of Axel, the presence of the Nobody faintly surprising Aerith. The man looked awkward, as if he knew that coming here would have been a bad idea. His hands hit his hips nervously, swinging back and forth. Mickey sighed, obviously having known what would happen. "Riku, Merlin said himself that Axel was trying to help Sora…" Mickey tried to persuade, an irritated look coming over his face as Riku interrupted the King. Donald and Goofy twitched at this, but did not do anything.

"Mickey, you can't be serious! I mean- sure, he did one little thing that he hoped would make up for what he did, but he was wrong! Can't you see that? I mean…come on! He stood by and WATCHED as those two DIED!" He jabbed his finger over at Goofy and Donald, the two starting at being signaled out. "And then he was the one to yank Sora up and drag him all the way back to the Organization's castle after Sora had finally gotten out! You may think that what he did makes up for it, but what DID he do?"

"He made a plan-"

"The plan was stupid!" Riku objected, not giving the King a chance to speak even. "Sora placed his trust in Axel's hands, and he let him down! Axel left Sora alone, didn't look for him for the longest time, and then let him DIE!" Axel's eyes flashed at the words, anger slowly leaking into the green orbs. Riku went on, marching forward and ramming his finger into Axel's chest. "You may think that you did something heroic and amazing, but you did NOTHING. You let Sora die, and I will never listen to anything you have to say in your defense."

"Riku!" Mickey yelled sharply, taken aback.

"I'm just saying what everybody else is thinking!" Riku retorted sharply, turning and glaring at the King. All sense of friendship they seemed to have shared with one another seemed nonexistent in this moment. The bond the two had shared before slowly unwinding in this small moment. "Why would you go back and get him when we all made it perfectly clear that NONE of us want him here!" Yuffie and Kairi glanced over at one another, eyes slightly guilty, as if they agreed with what Riku was saying. Or…yelling. But they didn't spring to his defense, staying quiet as they looked on silently.

"That's enough!" Mickey said sternly, drawing himself up to the tallest height he could manage. His eyes blazed, and his hands fisted tightly at his sides. "Riku, you might be unable to comprehend much right now, and I wont blame you for that." His voice had dropped considerably by now. "But that doesn't mean that you need to shoot everything down before you get a chance to calm down." Turning to the crowd that was looking back at him blankly, Mickey addressed them all. "I know everybody is shaken up and worried after what we just went through, but pushing Axel away will not help anything. He helped Sora, and I know for a fact that if Sora could see us all yelling and bickering, he would think we were all idiots." The sentence ended bluntly, the crowd figuring that the King would add a 'but' to the end. But instead, Mickey just glared around the room, waiting for objections.

Riku huffed angrily, swinging around to put his back purposefully facing Axel. The red-haired man twitched at this, but did not say anything, green eyes straying over to rest disbelievingly on Sora. Yuffie looked like she wanted to agree with Riku, arms crossed with an irritated look plastered over her face. Merlin and Aerith seemed unbothered by the events, turning back to dressing Sora's wounds. Leon winced a moment before turning to look over at Sora, as if wondering whether or not King Mickey was right about Sora's would-be irritation. Nevertheless, nobody spoke out against Mickey vocally, the King giving a brisk nod at the lack of complaint.

"How is he?" Mickey asked instead, marching forward to stand beside Merlin. The Wizard glanced down swiftly at him, eyes clouded with worry. He said nothing, eyeing the thin wrap of gauze, or at least what was left of it. If Cid didn't hurry back with more, their situation could change quickly. And so far, it wasn't even looking that good in the first place. But Aerith didn't seem to be worrying as much as Merlin for once, the girl's attitude doing a full turn as she leaned over Sora, gently surveying his right arm. When she looked up, her green eyes were slightly larger than normal, voice a little reluctant as she spoke up.

"His arm is broken." She said doubtfully. "Really bad. I'm not sure what I should do for that."

"I can do that, Aerith, thank you." Merlin said, going over and resting a hand on Sora's arm tenderly. Aerith was right, the arm was broken severely, Merlin was sure that he had never seen a limb as mangled as the one that Sora had. It caught him off-guard for a moment, but he recovered quickly, mouth a thin line as he looked back up. "Where is Cid with the-" He broke off, blinking with surprise as the man in question barged into the room, rolls of new bandages loaded his arms. It was quite a surprise, really. Everybody knew that the Item Store Worker went slower than molasses these days. For Cid to have gone there and back like this was nothing short of a miracle. But then again, Merlin wasn't going to start complaining.

"Hey." Cid said absently to Axel, brushing past the Organization Member without a passing glance. It seemed like amid the chaos, it didn't surprise Cid to see the Member where he was now. Oddly enough, that made him smarter than the others, who were still looking warily at the red-haired man, as if waiting for him to leap forward and slit one of their throats. But Cid just walked straight past him, rushing over to Merlin and setting the rolls of bandages down on the table, right beside Sora. "Sorry I took so long." He grumbled under his breath.

"Quite alright." Merlin said quickly, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully as he looked down at Sora's arm. "This could be tricky." He mumbled softly, reaching over and moving the arm so that it bent at the elbow, going over and resting lightly over Sora's chest. "We need to make sure it sets right, otherwise it wont get any better. I just wonder how it could have gotten so bad…"

"Xaldin was attacking Sora when I got there." Axel spoke up, voice hesitant, as if he would rather not have talked about it. The Hollow Bastian Restoration Committee looked over at the Organization Member, on the fringe. Like they didn't know whether or not to be angry at this, or intrigued. They didn't say anything to stop him, so Axel took that as an invitation to go on. "It would make sense if Xaldin had done that." He nodded grimly towards his arm. "That's the arm he uses to fight, right?"

Goofy and Donald nodded at this, faces slightly sickened by the mental images.

"…Right then." Merlin said, voice softer as he looked back down to Sora. "Aerith, if you could just help me over here-"

Axel ducked his head, wincing slightly at the angered looks boring into him. It was clear that the people around him did not believe his story at all. No matter what the old wizard and mouse said in his defense. Should he just leave? But he couldn't get out the image of Sora smiling brightly at him, despite the situation they had both been in. It seemed like years and years ago, but it still stuck in his mind like a tangled cobweb. It refused to get out of his head, and Axel knew that if he left without ever knowing if Sora did live or not, he would go crazy with his not knowing. He just had to stay here to see Sora get well again, then he could leave in peace.

But was that the real reason? A thought prodded in the back of his head, nagging at him and making him grimace. Would Sora even be happy to see him again? After all, Riku had been partly right in his justification. No matter what Axel thought he was doing, Sora was dying, HAD been dead for a good amount of time. By the time that Sora was awake and back to his senses, would he refuse to have Axel stay just like the others? The thought made Axel's stomach flip over in his chest, but he tried to push it away.

Suddenly, the house seemed too small, walls pressing in on his shoulders and making him feel claustrophobic. Shaking his head, Axel pushed himself off of the wall, going outside and slamming the door behind him. Drinking in the fresh air, Axel looked back and forth aimlessly, not sure what to do. He couldn't go back inside…not yet at least. Sighing, the Organization Member sat down on one of the steps, resting his head on the palm of his hand glumly. Staring at the ground, Axel's thoughts wandered to and fro, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time.

There was a heavy feeling in his chest, and Axel wished for once that he couldn't feel. If having a heart meant that you had to experience this pain and more, maybe it wasn't worth it. Axel didn't even want to be a nobody, he wanted to be….nothing. A fragment in the shadows that was nonexistent, dead to the world and the world dead to him. That way nobody would know about him, nobody would be able to remember him. He would have no ties…no feelings. He would be nothing, and after these last few weeks, Axel found himself longing for the nothingness that he had been trying to escape for the longest time. It was al little ironic, if you will. And next to these newfound feelings, they were second on the list of the things that he hated.

But at least the other Organization Members were dead. Nobody would be back for Sora, nobody would burst in unexpectedly and demand the boy back like they had last time Sora had escaped. There was no way that the boy was in any more danger from the group. The thing hanging above his head now was from his own injuries, there wouldn't be any more additional trouble, hopefully. Sora was finally free, and he wasn't here to enjoy it.

"Hey." Axel leapt out of his skin, whipping around with wide eyes. The girl that Axel had seen days and days ago stood behind him, blue eyes somewhat soft. Her red hair blew to the left slightly, and Axel struggled to remember her name. Kairi…that was it. Sora had spoken so much about her. The thought made a sad flicker cross over his eyes, but he shoved it away, waiting for the girl to say something instead of just standing there. "…I'm sorry. T-The way Riku was mean to you like that." She finally said, hands wringing together visibly behind her back.

"…It's fine." Axel managed, slightly shocked. Shouldn't she hate him too?

"You said you helped Sora?" Kairi asked, tilting her head to the side in a confused way.

"Yeah, I did." Axel said dryly, eyes hardening. "But I don't expect you of all people to believe me." Kairi winced at this, and Axel wasn't going to blame her. After all, he had been the one to take Kairi in the first place and bring her to the castle. It was back when the plan to steal Sora had first been starting to form, lose ends hanging out all over the plan. She was going to be there to drive Sora, and of course when Sora crossed the line, Xemnas used her to torture the boy even more. Looking at her blue eyes now, he realized how much they were alike to Sora's own. The thought made him shake his head, turning back around and glaring over at the wall across the cobblestone road.

"That plan you made, then…" Kairi offered, not giving up. "It didn't work too well, huh?"

Axel rolled his eyes sourly, trying to figure out whether or not she was being sarcastic. "No." Axel said, putting in a kick of his own sarcasm. "I did this whole thing on purpose. This is perfectly according to plan, don't I just think up the most amazing things?" Turning, he threw a glare over at the girl, being a lot sharper than he would have liked. Actually, when he pictured the way that he would go about talking to her, there was always an apology in there somewhere. But seeing her just made his anger blossom, it seemed.

"There's no need for that." She said, blue eyes glinting as she walked forward. Before Axel could stop her, she sat down next to him, drawing up her knees and resting her head down. "Before you made me come with you." She said thoughtfully, eyes flickering over to him. "You said something about how you knew how it felt. To…lose someone close to you." Her voice cracked slightly at the last part, and Axel knew that Sora was more special to this girl than Axel could even try and comprehend. "…Who did you lose?" She asked softly.

"Roxas." The word slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Kairi blinked, confused a moment before turning to look straight forward once again. "To each his own." She mumbled, probably not meaning to let Axel hear it.

He wanted to smack her so bad.

But the next words made him stop. "…How did you cope with it?" She asked, eyes glistening suddenly.

Looking down at the girl for a long moment, Axel ducked his head. "I didn't." He said, closing his eyes tightly as he thought of the way he closed himself off to the other members of the Organization. The way he became like a robot, merely living just to carry out missions and tasks. Managing to stay alive in the brief hope of Kingdom Hearts being filled. The plan with Sora before had given him a little comfort. Now he knew how wrong it had been of him to even think that way. Then he opened his eyes once more, cold determination settling inside the green orbs. "I didn't cope with it at all. I just let myself go. But I wont do it again. I'm not going to let this one slip away from my fingers without even trying to do something to help."

Kairi looked over at him, blinking once. "You care for Sora then?" She asked quietly.

Axel didn't know why he felt like he could tell this girl everything. He wanted to smack her five minutes ago, and yet he couldn't stop talking to her. Looking away in hopes it would help, Axel looked at the ground sadly. "He made me feel like I had a heart." He whispered brokenly. "He…made me feel like I wasn't just a Nobody. Like I was whole."

Kairi's eyes weighed down with grief. "I'm sorry." She said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Axel corrected, looking back over at her. "This is all my fault, I shouldn't have let the Organization get a hold of me like they did. If Sora even lives, I'm not sure he'll be grateful for us saving him."

"Please." She said suddenly. "Please tell me what they did to him."

"No." Axel said flatly, not even pausing to debate it.

"I can't stop thinking about it!" She exploded, leaning closer to him. Her blue eyes were wide and desperate, Axel doing all he could to not think about another pair of eyes just like that, begging Axel to help him. Shaking his head to clear it, Axel looked at Kairi for a moment, as if debating. A brief flash of hope stirred in the back of Kairi's eyes, but deflated quickly as he shook his head.

"No." He repeated, more firmly.

"I would be a lot better if I just knew what happened to him." She said, pressing on.

"No, you wouldn't." Axel said, getting to his feet before she could try and say anything else. "If you want peace of mind, just don't think about it. You don't want to know what happened, you have enough mental images in your head." Turning, he headed back into the house, ducking his head as he added, one hand on the doorknob. "All I know was that in some way, Sora knew what he was doing. He would want you to be strong, and that's that. He would want all of you to be strong, not mulling over what happened to him."

"Thank you." Kairi said oddly. "For…For helping Sora, I mean."

Axel did not answer, opening the door and closing it behind him. Leaving Kairi all alone outside.

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A/N: Marching Show Preview tonight, so I gotta go :3

Just managed to get this out to you all! :D

I hope you like it! I've been so preoccupied with Marching Camp that I haven't really had time to brainstorm on new chapters. Although I went out to eat before Batman last night, and I went to the bathroom at Olive Garden. I was all alone and this weird Italian music was playing. It was so quiet when I got inside, and then all of a sudden as I was walking, this giant bang sounded behind me. I think something fell. But it scared the CRAP out of me. I jumped, screamed, and banged my head against the wall.

In the process?

Thought up another story idea. Yup. That's the way I roll o-o

I didn't get a lot of reviews from you all last chapter, it made me sad. : (

If I get more reviews this time, I'll update really fast~! -hinthint-


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: So Wikki sent me a private message asking if she could take this fic and translate it into Italian so that more people can read it! I'm so excited, I really think this is one of my best stories. Usually I have things I regret doing in other stories, like, I go back and read them through and wonder what the heck I was thinking in putting that in there. But this one I have no issues with, it's as perfect as I wanted it to be when I first thought it up in my head. …Except for a few typos, but I wont count those o-o

So I finally got around to scouring stores for Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. I got it finally. I AM SO CONFUSED HERE! As I play the game further and further, my frown deepens, and my brain slowly cooks itself with anger and frustration. I'm like, you know, trying to edge around all the heartless and stuff, right? Well, one jumped at me when I wasn't looking, and I screamed from the loud whooshing noise that followed it. Scared the crap out of me. And I can't get through these stupid doors cause I don't have a card. A CARD! I HAVE A FREAKING KEY! XDDD

Just keep reading in this chapter, it might seem weird…just keep reading.

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The drive he had to go farther and farther was slowly ebbing away with each step he took. Gradually, the farther along he went, the more and more pain started to leak back into his body, causing him to wince and grimace with each step. His limbs dragged like lead, and it was all he could do to keep going and not crumple to the ground right away. Exhaustion was written all over his face, and the farther he went, the more he started to wonder how much longer he would last. He didn't think he would be able to keep going much longer. The hill he was climbing seemed to go one forever, never-ending and relentless in its sharp angle upwards.

Though the thoughts running through his mind were enough to keep him going. Questions and wondering filling his mind to the brink. Did he even remember anything? What was his name again…it was something…that started with….A? T? Maybe an S… how could he have forgotten his own name? Pausing in his strides, he came to a stand-still, eyes fixed on his shoes thoughtfully. Screwing up his eyes as tightly as he could, he forced himself to remember as much as he could, the thought of existing without any memories making a thrill of fear stab into him. He knew he had a name…he had friends, too. He remembered their faces…their names. But why couldn't he remember his own name?

"It's Sora, you idiot." A dry voice sounded behind him. Starting, Sora whirled around, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. A familiar figure stood behind him, though not as strongly as Sora had thought he would have looked. The blonde looked almost…thinned-out. Fading, it seemed. The darkness behind the blonde seemed to mix in with his own attire, making it seem like he was slowly melting into the dark around him. "…Roxas." Sora murmured, searching the Nobody's face anxiously, unsure what to say for once. But thankfully, Roxas was the first to speak, voice still filled to the brink with sarcasm.

"You've gotten both of us in a pickle now, hmm?" He asked, blue eyes flashing as he spoke.

"It's not my fault." Sora mumbled, glaring over sharply at Roxas. But was that even true? The question burned in his mind like a white-hot iron, making him wince backwards. The scene he had left slammed into him, memories rushing back into his head at full-force. Gasping sharply, Sora's hands flew up to hold his head tightly, the boy buckling over to crouch down on the ground, eyes closed and teeth gnashed together painfully. Images blurred behind his eyelids, and Sora felt the all-out pain all over again. Roxas watched, face wiped of emotion.

"That must be a horrible feeling." Roxas murmured, almost to himself as he watched Sora try and stand up again. Remembering his own episodes, he couldn't help but think that the keyblade bearer could suck it up. But he shoved the thought away roughly, shaking his head. With thoughts like that, it wouldn't help anything that was happening now. And if they were going to try and do something, they were standing on a fine line. They had to move fast.

"Where are we?" Sora asked finally, eyes glimmering with sharp pain as he looked over at Roxas.

"Nowhere." The Nobody snorted, rolling his eyes. Crossing his arms, he went into a little more detail, noticing the look of confusion on Sora's face. "Obviously you didn't win again Xaldin, you couldn't keep going, and now…" He gestured around to the darkness hanging over both of them. He paused a moment before adding, "If we don't do anything soon, we're both done for." Sora blinked, looking over at Roxas with a newfound sadness, staring at his nearly-transparent body. The whole situation dawned on Sora slowly, and the boy's blue eyes turned dull with disappointment.

"So…this is it, then?" He asked, voice closing in on itself as he looked around slowly. Roxas didn't say anything in reply, avoiding Sora's eyes as he looked away, forehead creased as if thinking. "I mean- there's no way that we can get out of here!" Sora yelled, voice heightening. Roxas winced. "If I couldn't even get out of that stupid castle…" Sora closed his eyes, voice failing him. All determination rushing out of him, Sora let himself fall down into a sitting position, ducking his head and burying it in his knees.

Silence settled over the two for a moment, neither of the two wanting to look at the other. Roxas slowly breathed out, shoulders slumping as he slowly looked over at Sora. The boy didn't seem to want to meet his eyes, if he even knew that his Nobody was staring at him. Closing his eyes, Roxas cursed himself mentally, knowing he would probably regret this in a small amount of seconds. "Hey, Sora…" He started awkwardly. The keybearer perked slightly, turning his head a little to look up at Roxas, puzzlement in his sea-blue orbs. "I wanted to thank you." Roxas grumbled, a little ungraciously.

"What for?" Sora asked, bitterness melting off of his voice by now.

"For using your last potion like that. I don't know if you knew it or not, but…it meant a lot to me. Even if we're done for now, at least we got to help Axel before we left." Sora straightened, eyes narrowing slightly. Roxas had said 'we.' Did that mean that he thought of the two of them together as a team? Hesitating for only a second this time, Roxas stooped down, offering Sora his hand with a small smile. It was the first act of kindness from Roxas that Sora could think of, and the small movement was enough to bring the smile back onto his face.

Reaching up, Sora grasped the Nobody's hand tightly, finding it surprisingly solid. Pulling up, Roxas helped Sora regain his footing before he said anything else. But Sora was first to say anything, looking fully into Roxas's eyes, like his was checking for any hint of his angered attitude returning. But it didn't show. "Thank you." Sora said. Roxas blinked, looking confused, and Sora realized he must have said something stupid. "F-For thanking me, I mean." He improvised. It didn't seem to do anything else to help his case, but at least Roxas knew he appreciated it.

"…No problem…" The blond murmured, looking a little lost. Roxas's eyes were slowly changing direction from looking over at Sora, to something beyond the keybearer. Catching the movement, Sora blinked, trying to turn and follow the boy's gaze. But Roxas lashed out, gripping his arm tightly and pulling him back before Sora could see what it was. "Don't look behind you." Roxas said in a hushed whisper, blue eyes darkening with something close to anger. At Sora's panicked expression, Roxas drew him even closer. "Just don't do it, trust me." He hissed through clenched teeth.

Staring at Roxas oddly for a moment or two, Sora debated whether or not to listen to him. Blinking a few times, he jerked forward, pushing Roxas gently, but firmly away from him. The blonde let out a loud yell, staggering backwards with an irritated expression on his face. Hesitating before turning around, Sora blinked, eyes widening to be a million times their normal size. Through the darkness that shrouded his eyesight, it seemed that there was a beam of light shedding a path forward, a figure standing a ways in front of him. The person was tall, powerful, and all-around familiar.

"LEON!" Sora screamed, forgetting Roxas, who was currently scrambling to his feet, calling out warnings that went through one ear and out the other. Racing forward, Sora's previous pain vanished like he were just shrugging off a coat. Relief and happiness spread over Sora, so much so that he forgot where his feet were for a minute, running up the hill like a blind person. Leon didn't move, watching the keybearer with one eyebrow raised, and Sora could imagine the achingly-familiar gleam of amusement that always glinted in the man's eyes when he looked at the keybearer.

Skidding to a stop, Sora acted without thinking, throwing his arms out and hugging Leon around the stomach as tightly as he could, nearly suffocating the man. "Oh my gosh, Leon!" Sora yelled, a smile spreading over the boy's face, stretching from ear-to-ear. "I thought I would never see you again, I thought I wouldn't ever see anybody ever again! Do you know where the others are? Did they miss me?" The questions spilled from his mouth in a rush, unable to stop talking.

Roxas slowed where he ran, eventually stopping a few feet away from the two of them. His pained expression rested on Sora, and he opened his mouth as if to say something. But he snapped it shut, trying to turn away from what was bound to happen. But he was transfixed, unable to even blink, it seemed. As if some of Sora's awe was rubbing off on him as well. Clamping his mouth shut, he waited, being silent and not intruding on the scene.

Leon didn't answer Sora, the boy's eyes blinking open, a little surprised. Not letting go, Sora craned his neck backwards, looking up at Leon's face, a little lost. "…Leon?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "You're happy to see me…right?" Still, there was no answer. Sora's voice went a little small, eyes narrowing somewhat. "Did you even know I was gone?" He asked, disbelief edging his tone.

Finally, Leon spoke up, Sora smiling once again as he saw the man open his mouth. But the boy's grin faded slowly as his friend spoke. "Who are you?" He asked, eyes showing nothing but annoyance at the random hug from nobody more than a stranger. Sora blinked, face falling altogether into a look of pure fright and confusion. When the boy didn't relinquish his hold, Leon leaned forward, reaching down and prying the keybearer off of him. A little rougher than was needed, Sora staggered backwards, nearly falling over.

Roxas swooped down, catching him expertly before he could crash into the ground. If Sora had noticed the movement, he didn't give a sign, or say thank you. Grunting slightly, Roxas pushed Sora back up to his feet, wondering if the keybearer could even get up himself. But as Roxas let go of him, he didn't even waver, seeming to find his footing despite the shock he felt. Stepping back a little, Roxas clasped his hands behind his back a little sullenly. He should have tried harder to get Sora to stay back there.

"…What?" Sora asked, voice rising an octave as he squeaked. "Y-You don't remember me?" He asked, trying to get a hold of himself, probably trying to get his voice down to normal. "Leon…it's me, Sora!" He pressed, eyes still wide with hurt and surprise. When the man didn't respond, Sora dashed forward, grabbing his arm tightly. "You have to remember me!" He said in a rush. "It's me, Sora! I annoy you and when you first met me, you nearly killed me, but we're friends and you said that we would never forget each other! Please don't do this again!" He said, voice choking.

"Get off of me." Leon said roughly, shoving Sora off of him cruelly. The brunette caught himself this time, righting himself and staring at Leon like he had just seen him for the first time. Roxas saw with a jolt of alarm that there were tears shining in the boy's eyes, and surprisingly, he felt a flash of anger towards this Leon-character. Which was oddly out of personality for him. "Look, kid, I don't know you." Leon went on, putting emphasis on the word 'Kid.' Like Sora was nothing more than an annoying bug. "You obviously have me mistaken."

"No, I don't!" Sora went on, ignoring the furious look Leon gave him. "I know that you recognize me! Please! Do you know the way out of here? Take me to Yuffie, she'll know who I am!" But it was clear in Leon's eyes that he was going to do no such thing. Turning, the man started to walk away, leaving Sora Roxas behind in the shadows. Eyes narrowing, Sora pushed himself forward, eyes burning as he raced after Leon stubbornly.

"No! Wait!" Roxas called back, trying to catch up to him.

"Leon! Wait!" Sora yelled, struggling to run up the steep incline. Hearing his call, Leon quickened his pace, breaking into a run. "No!" Sora hissed, pushing himself to an all-out sprint. Hair slicking back to his forehead, the keybearer ran as fast as he could despite the pain that was now flooding back into him with each stride. It seemed the farther he got up the hill, the more of his recent injuries started to come back to him. His leg buckled slightly underneath him, a jolt of searing pain lancing up his limb. Gasping, his run slowed as he started to limp again.

But the brief sprint had left him close enough to reach Leon. Stretching his arms out, Sora's fingers strained to reach the back of Leon's jacket, the boy leaning as far as he could without falling flat on his face. Finally, Sora's hands grabbed hold of the man's shirt, fisting into the cloth tightly. The boy smiled, faltering in his strides for a heartbeat, stumbling slightly. But it was enough to make Leon jerk backwards, Sora slipping in his surprise. Both of them fell to the ground in a pile, Sora scrambling out from underneath his friend with a panicked expression. "Oh my gosh!" He gasped, clapping his hand over his mouth tightly. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked.

Leon pushed himself up with a hiss, reaching over and gripping his ankle tightly. Sora winced away from the oddly-bent limb, cursing himself. "I'm really sorry." He offered, reaching behind him as he spoke. "But here, I can heal that, right?" So far, his magic hadn't really been working…at all. But it was a try at least. His right hand fisted painfully into a fist, the limb starting to feel achy and sore by now. But to his surprise, his keyblade didn't come when he willed it to.

"…Wha-?" Sora tried again and again, eyes slowly widening with shock. Each time, the keyblade refused to come. Roxas was still a ways back from them, a mere color in the dark as he tried to catch up to the two. Sora would have liked to ask him what was going on, but he was too far away. But Sora could feel his irritation like thorns digging into him, no matter how far the Nobody seemed to be. Turning back to Leon, Sora scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly. "…So I can't heal you-"

"You idiot!" Leon snapped, Sora's hand falling to his side with surprise. The man had turned his head to look back at the keybearer, eyes burning with anger and pain. "You twisted my ankle, what's the matter with you!" Sora opened his mouth to say something, but it must have been a rhetorical question, because Leon went on. "Look, I know you may think you know me, but you don't! And I feel sorry for people who DO know you!" Sora blinked, eyes widening with hurt. "You're annoying, irritating, creepy, and all-around weird! Just get away from me."

The man winced deeply in pain as he started to push himself up, starting to put pressure little by little on his injured foot. Sora watched numbly for a moment, going still as he felt his eyes starting to burn. He could hear Roxas's footsteps coming closer, but he ignored it, getting to his feet and reaching out, putting his hand on Leon's for a moment. "…Leon…" He tried one more time, feeling the tears start to leak out of his eyes and trickle down his face.

The next movement caught Sora so off-guard, that the boy didn't even make a noise. Leon whirled around, obviously angered beyond the limit by now. Reaching his hand backwards, Leon brought it forward as hard as he could, swinging it forward and hitting Sora clear across the face. The sound of the smack seemed to echo around the place, Sora freezing where he stood, blue eyes wide and numb as he looked back at Leon. His cheek was already turning red, and there was no doubt that it would turn into a bruise sooner or later. Leon glared at him sharply, as if warning him not to touch him again. Sora's shoulders started to shake, the tears streaming down his face freely by now.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Roxas screamed, dashing forward in a full sprint by now. His keyblade was drawn where he ran, the boy swinging his keyblade as far back as his arm would allow him to do. As he flew past Sora, he lunged his weapon forward, swiping a Leon deeply across the stomach. Sora gasped sharply, trying to throw out an arm to stop his Nobody "NOOOO!" Sora screamed, horror flooding him to the brink.

But to his surprise, Leon didn't crumble to the ground in a heap like Sora had thought would happen. Instead, the man vanished as soon as the keyblade touched him, vanishing like he were just made of smoke and nothing else. Roxas was huffing for breath, straightening and glaring at the spot where Leon had once stood. Slowly, he turned to face Sora, face falling as he stared at the keybearer. He seemed shocked, confused and unable to comprehend what just happened. His eyes were filled with pain, shock, and hurt, the mingled emotions clashing in his blue orbs. He was trembling, staring at the spot where Leon disappeared like he were going to throw up. The hit he had taken from the man starting to turn a light shade of gray.

"It's okay." Roxas said, voice oddly gentle by now. "It was just something from the Dark." He said bracingly, wishing that Sora would stop crying. It made him feel weird. When Sora still looked confused, Roxas glanced around him at the pressing dimness of the world around them. "It's just trying to draw you into it, it's trying to make you lose your heart so that you'll just become one…of the shadows." He said, picking his words carefully.

"But…Leon…" Sora stammered.

"Wasn't the real Leon." Roxas said firmly. "It was just something the darkness made up to try and get into your head. You just have to…ignore it." He said, glancing over his shoulder. "The sooner we can find a way out of here, the better. Otherwise…" He trailed off, closing his eyes and not finishing his sentence. Sora blinked, eyes still teary as he looked at Roxas for a long moment, as if weighing something. But then he spoke up, still sounding wounded.

"My Keyblade…" He managed to get out, Roxas blinking. "It wont come to me."

Roxas's expression turned from calm to panicked. He hadn't expected it to work so quickly. Without the Keyblade, that meant that Sora's heart was- "Are you sure?" He asked. "Try again." Sora stamped his foot on the ground, clearly getting more then frustrated by this whole turn of events. Reaching out, Sora fisted his hand loosely for a moment, closing his eyes and concentrating. A few minutes passed of complete silence, Roxas staring at Sora anxiously. But when Sora opened his eyes again, the keyblade still wasn't there.

"It's not coming." Sora whispered brokenly, eyes glistening. "What do I do?"

"…I dunno." Roxas murmured, raking his brain for something encouraging to say that would maybe help lift Sora's spirits. And yet, if they keyblade wouldn't come to Sora…didn't that mean he wasn't chosen for it anymore? And if that was true…it must mean that Sora's heart wasn't as strong and true as it had been before. Without that, how were they supposed to get out of here? Despite the worried thoughts pushing and shoving through his head, Roxas smiled easily. "It's fine." He said easily. "It must be because we're in this place. We just need to get out of here."

"But you have your keyblade." Sora objected.

"…Yeah, but I'm a Nobody, it doesn't mean anything."

"If I don't have my keyblade, how will I get out of here?" Sora mumbled, glaring at the ground.

Roxas sighed, losing patience. "You're annoying." He said bluntly, reaching over and grabbing Sora's arm, tugging him forward. "Let's just get out of here, so that I never have to be with you ever again like this. I prefer it much more when you and I just didn't talk." Leading the way up the steep hill, Roxas walked with confidence that he hoped showed enough for Sora to notice it. He had been in the dark like this a lot longer than Sora had, he would be able to do this a lot better than him.

Sora blinked, looking down at Roxas's hand with faint surprise. The hand was a lot colder than it had been before, it was like sticking his hand into a freezer. Before it had been a lot warmer. Not to mention that Roxas had seemed a lot fuller before, too. The two things went hand-in-hand, and Sora realized with a flash of alarm that Roxas was fading away. How long before his Nobody would be gone forever? Leaving Sora here in this empty place by himself?

And how long before he faded as well?

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"This would be a lot better if this house wasn't so small." Axel grumbled, having to inch out of somebody's way for what seemed like the millionth time. Everybody was coming in with more medical supplies, and leaving to get food everybody, it seemed like this was some sort of stupid ant colony or something. Yuffie caught the words that he spoke, raising her eyebrow slightly at his words. She slowed down where he was walking, looking at Axel critically for a moment.

Really? Was she going to get mad at him for THAT?

But instead she turned to the side, raising her voice so that it traveled over the other people milling about the house. "Merlin!" She shouted, repeating the Wizard's name until the room had quieted somewhat. The Wizard had been talking to the King, their heads bent close together as they talked. At the sound of his name, he reflexively looked over at Sora. But Aerith was the one that always stayed next to where the keybearer's body lie, she hadn't been the one to call. Finally, he looked back over at Yuffie, eyes questioning.

"Axel's got a point!" She yelled, rather ungraciously. The Organization Member straightened, blinking with faint surprise. "This house is way too small for all these things going on." Merlin's brow furrowed slightly. Axel had to hold back a snort. They hadn't noticed it was the size of a closet in here? "Don't you know a magic spell that could maybe make the house bigger on the inside?" Yuffie asked, voice skeptical as if she didn't believe it actually existed.

Glancing over at Mickey, he gave a small, thoughtful nod. "You're right, Yuffie." He said finally. "Er, I mean…Axel." He corrected himself. The man rolled his eyes, shaking his head and ignoring it. But the Wizard got to his feet, withdrawing his wand from the sleeve of his robe. "I do know this one spell that could make the place larger." Axel caught sight of Aerith look over worriedly at Sora. Obviously, she was wondering if the spell would put Sora in any more danger. The thought would have been ridiculous, before. But about thirty minutes ago, Aerith had found a bruise on Sora's cheek, the wound seeming to have appeared randomly. If that could happen from nowhere, anything else could. Axel could have sworn he had never seen the bruise before. But it could have just been there without them knowing.

A burst of light radiated off of Merlin's wand, and the bright sheen of white spread through every inch of the wound. It got so bright that Axel had to close his eyes to keep from becoming blind. But gradually, the light stopped shining, the spell over and done with. Opening his eyes, Axel started with surprise, admitting the flash of ambiance for the Magician. The room seemed ten times bigger at least, the furniture a lot more spread out, not to mention that the mess of books that were strewn around the floor had been cleaned up a lot more.

Aerith looked down at Sora quickly, letting out a sigh of relief as the boy seemed to be untouched.

"That's better." Yuffie said, giving a nod as she surveyed the room. Her eyes were drawn to the corner, a door there that had not been there before. "Where's that go?" She asked innocently, gray eyes flashing with curiosity.

"That leads to stairs." Merlin explained. "…If we need another level."

The room quieted somewhat, the Restoration Committee exchanging nervous glances. Did Merlin mean a new level for comfort…or for someplace to hide if they needed it? The unspoken question seemed to be traveling through everybody in the room, mirrored glances of anxiousness flashing back and forth from each person. Kairi and Aerith both locked their jaws back determinately, eyes hardening with anger. They wouldn't be the first to let an enemy try and touch Sora.

"…Cool." Yuffie said, either not getting the unspoken message, or wanting to put her friends at ease. Hesitating, she turned and gave Axel a small, awkward smile that did not reach her eyes. "Nice thinking, then." She said, staring at Axel a moment before shaking herself, turning back in front of her and starting over to the door, ready to explore, it seemed. Axel watched her go, slightly baffled.

Kairi caught the words, giving Axel a soft smile. Raising her voice pointedly, she offered her own thanks. "Yeah, Axel, good thinking. I wouldn't have come up with it." She said, closing her mouth and looking around the crowd expectantly.

"Thanks." Aerith said softly, the usually-girl merely mumbling.

Others murmured their own thanks, as if not ready to thank him directly. Riku flashed the man a look out of the corner of his eye, giving a shrug. "I could have thought of it." He said under his breath, brushing past the Organization Member, but not with the same shove of roughness that he usually used.

Axel supposed that would have to be enough, then.

Suddenly, a voice sounded at the end of the room. Ansem stood up, eyes serious and grim. "I am going to take my leave now." He said. "There is nothing more I can do here. I came to aid Riku in saving Sora. Now that we have done that, I am ready to depart to my own studies once more." Mickey blinked, perking up at the table where he sat.

"No!" He objected. "Stay, Ansem, please!" He begged of his friend.

"I cannot." Ansem murmured, shame filling his voice by now. Looking over at Axel, the man dipped his head. "I was wrong, in thinking that you were unable to have a change inside of yourself. You are not like the others in the Organization, I know that now." He paused a moment, ducking his head. "Perhaps if I have believed you sooner, things would not be this bad." He looked over at Sora, guilt flashing in his eyes. Kairi closed her eyes a moment, as if thinking. "I had thought a heart…or a mind…had a path lied out for it. An unchanging path, one that was impossible to change, or break. But I now know that I was entirely wrong. You…even without a heart…have shown me that much. I am sorry." He said, pointing it back to Axel by now.

Mickey seemed to deflate at this, but seemed to know he could not change Ansem's mind. "At least let me walk you out, then." He offered, jumping down from the chair he was sitting in and hopping down to stand beside his old friend. Ansem nodded, as if his mind were elsewhere, trailing after Mickey and heading for the door. As he passed, the others offered small mummers of grateful thanks, smiles and waves rippling across the house.

But Axel did not join in, eyes narrowed. Was that true? If Ansem hadn't stopped him in the hall, would he have been able to find Sora before the boy could be as bad as he was before? It made sense, and the thought only made him angrier. If that was the case…this was all Ansem's fault.

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A/N: Dear Peach: …Maybe ;3

Marching Band is finally over. I feel empty now. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

But I kept my promise, because all you guys were so nice with your reviews! :D

Can we make it to 400? :D :D :D


	31. Chapter 31

Two weeks passed, a long, almost insufferable span of time. During the days passing, the people around Axel slowly got more and more restless, more and more anxious. Even if the house had gotten bigger, the air was thick with worry and dread, you felt like you were walking right into a lightening storm when you came in from the cold weather outside. It sure warmed you up, but the amount of awkwardness was something to smother you quicker than you would have liked. Without any response whatsoever from Sora, the whole town seemed quiet. Though Axel had wondered if anybody else even knew about the boy's condition.

It didn't seem to matter, though. The whole place was quiet all the time. Like a little piece of it was missing, leaving a large, gaping hole in the town square. Which was only just starting to go under renovation, mind you. Axel had overheard Yuffie and Leon talking together quietly, away from the rest of the group. "Maybe we should just tell the other townspeople." Yuffie had murmured quietly, almost too low for Axel to hear properly. "…We could…get a-" She broke off, as if unable to finish her words. Looking away, she closed her eyes, rubbing her arms tightly, as if cold.

"We can't do anything until Merlin says so first." Leon said, reaching over and pulling her into a quick hug. "It'll be fine, Yuffie. He hasn't stopped breathing, and as long as he keeps doing that, we wont do anything rash." When Yuffie still looked sour, he added swiftly, "C'mon, he'll be fine. Three days tops, you give him that much. He'll be back, trust me." Yuffie's shoulders had sagged slightly, as if the words had calmed her somewhat.

But even now, Axel could see the way her gray eyes were weighed down with sadness, grief and the utmost sense of tragedy inside them. It was as if she could already see the funeral procession already trailing through the town. And it was obvious that by now, about half the people in this place was thinking the same thing. It was enough to make Axel want to tear his hair out bit by bit. Sure, Sora wasn't responding to the potions or magic that Merlin tried daily. But that didn't mean he was going to stop breathing in two seconds! He was fine for now, why couldn't they see that?

Axel had tried more than once to try and tell everyone that they were overreacting, but he always thought better of it at the last moment, shutting his mouth and just looking the other way. The only person that would probably listen to him was Kairi, and when the girl wasn't running errands or helping take care of Sora, she was already walking back with Yuffie to the Ninja's house. After the black-haired girl had offered a spare bed inside her place, Kairi and Yuffie had left every day at eight to go back to her place. That left Axel with nothing to do all night, nobody to talk to. Everybody else here seemed to hate his guts. Except for the King. But he wasn't too keen on talking with him, it seemed. Too busy with everything else.

Today was a brighter day than most, Axel realized, leaning against the wall. There was a faint trace of excitement in the air, making the atmosphere a little bit more bearable. There was a roaring fire in the hearth that warmed the now-large house. Yuffie juggled about a million boxes in her hands, shuffling forward carefully as she scooted past the others, heading for the fireplace. The mummers traveling through the room weren't filled with worry, but rather a lighted sense of relief. It took Axel more than thirty minutes to finally get what got everybody so happy once again.

It seemed like that time of year again, Axel thought sarcastically.

Hesitating a moment, he turned, drawing up the courage it would take in turning around. But he did it, swiveling around to face Yuffie, who was stretching up on her toes to reach the top of the mantle. "Need help?" He asked, looking down at her pointedly. She stopped, turning over with faint surprise. Her mouth was halfway open, as if she wasn't sure what to say in response. Axel blinked, pointing from her to the top of the mantle. "You're coming up about five inches too short to hang those things up." He said, pointing to the large, over-sized socks that she held in her hand. They were decorated in green, red, and white, embroidered names stitched across the top. "You'll never get those up by yourself." He said. Pausing, he nodded towards the large box that leaned against the other side of the room. "Or the tree."

Yuffie blinked, looking a little lost. As if she was torn from snapping at him to get away from her, and gratefully accepting his help. Which would have been ridiculous, considering the fact that she was so short, Axel could have stood on her head and have his height stay the same. Pushing the thought away, Axel scowled bad-temperedly, rolling his eyes as he turned to go out the door in a huff. "Whatever." He growled, figuring that it was a lost cause anyway. He probably shouldn't have even tried.

"No, wait!" Yuffie said in a rush, closing her eyes as if bracing herself to regret her decision. Axel stopped mid-step, perking up as he turned around expectantly. Blinking rapidly for a moment, Yuffie pushed her arms forward, handing him the stockings that she held firmly in her hands. "Just do it." She said stiffly, avoiding eye contact. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes once again at the stupid attitude, Axel guessed that he would be lucky enough to get anything less than a glare. Reaching over, he swiped away the cloths, turning and lifting up the first one, fixing it to be straight on the mantle, eyes thoughtful. It was Yuffie's stocking.

The Ninja handed him the hammer and nails silently, watching with quiet criticism as he hammered in the socks with as care as he could be patient enough to have. "…Sorry." She said finally, Axel mistiming his swipe with the hammer and crying out as he accidentally hammered his thumb. Hissing, he glared sharply at the wood, fuming. Yuffie blinked at the odd happening, but did not say anything, wringing her hands together in front of her as she went on. "I didn't really know that you were into this whole thing." She explained. "I didn't really have time to make you a stocking."

Axel deadpanned at his work, hitting the nail with more force than needed. He thought she was actually going to apologize for the obvious thing, not for a lack of Christmas crap. Nevertheless, at least she was talking to him. "It's fine." He said, hammering on another stocking that was titled for Goofy. "You know," He said, glancing over at her. "there's a lot of people here, are you sure all these things will fit?" He asked. There had to be more than ten people here.

"We can make them fit." Yuffie said bracingly, walking forward and taking half of what remained of the Stocking. "It's a Christmas tradition, I'm not about to let it slip just because of what's happening." Pausing a moment, she looked over at Aerith and Kairi, who were rushing around running errands. "Maybe it'll be better for everybody to take a break at what's happening around here." She whispered, almost to herself. Axel blinked, freezing in mid-swing as he looked over at her. For a moment, he actually felt a little bad for the girl, the grief he had been shoving in the back of his mind blasting forward painfully. Nearly took his breath away.

Out of bitterness, he turned, glowering at the flickering flames that warmed the house. "Then I guess you would want me to keep away for that day." He growled under his breath, Yuffie's shoulders slumping at the words. "After all, nobody wants to spend the day with the 'murderer.'" He finished, not sugar-coating it at all. He actually felt a little satisfaction when the girl flinched as thought she had been slapped.

Without waiting for Yuffie's reply, he finished his stack as quickly as he could, a little sloppily. "There." He growled, glaring sourly at the poor arrangement of the stockings, which were overlapping way too much. It looked Santa had puked all over the place and left this in his wake. Not giving a care, he shoved the hammer and nails into the girl's arms, who squeaked with surprise, eyes widening. Spinning around, Axel stalked over to the other side of the room, brushing past Kairi and ignoring her innocent question of if he was okay or not.

Walking through the doorway, Axel jerked to a halt, as if his feet had a mind of their own. Wincing slightly, Axel turned to look over his shoulder, back at Yuffie. The Ninja seemed disappointed, halfway in the motion of turning back to the fireplace. Staring at Axel's work for a moment, she shuffled to the side, setting her stockings down on the ground slowly, with care. Then she turned, not even saying anything as she reached up on her toes, fixing Axel's untidy work of the decorations.

He shook himself angrily, swinging around with a glower and marching outside, shutting the door behind him without a last look. He couldn't help it if he were right, after all. Who would want him butting into the Christmas happiness? There was no way he wanted to do that. Walking down the steps and heading over to the Bailey, Axel rubbed his arms roughly, breath billowing out in front of him with each step he took. But was that really true? What other way would he spend the day? Well, after what he just did, there was no way for him to go and celebrate with the others. Christmas was a stupid holiday anyway.

And besides-

His anger-fueled thoughts were cut short suddenly, his walking slowing until he stopped altogether. He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing as he tilted his head to the side, listening. It was a voice, mainly one, but another would interject themselves every so often. It was a voice he was sure he had heard before. It was so familiar, and yet he couldn't place as to where he would have heard it from. He didn't talk to a lot of woman nowadays, he would admit.

Curiosity getting the best of him, the red-head turned, reaching up and gripping the edge of the brick wall. A sort of platform was there to land on before there was one last thing to swing over. Which was the edge, before you went through the Gates, at least. That was where the voice was coming from; the closer Axel got to it, the more familiar it seemed. Pressing his back against the wall, he turned, peering out so carefully so that he barely showed. But it didn't seem to matter, both of their backs were to him anyways. It took him longer than he would have liked to realize who was in front of him, his brain having been muddled from the recent events. But when he recognized the two, his eyes widened, a cold stab of fear settling into his heart.

"You are sure that he is here?" Maleficent asked, voice cold and hard.

"As sure as I'm standin' here!" Pete said, trying to sound confident as he thumped the center of his chest. At least what Axel thought was the center. That was a really big chest. But nevertheless, the cat went on, obviously unaware of him eavesdropping. "I did all my homework!" He sounded proud of himself. "They're right over there in that small little cottage!" He leaned forward, eyes searching the witch's, as if searching for praise like a dog would do after performing a trick.

The witch gave a small mummer, nodding her head once. "Then we must-"

Axel wasn't going to listen to the rest. Pieces to the puzzle clicked together, and panic was slowly rising in his chest. Turning around, the Ex-Organization Member jumped all the way down from the platform of brick, skipping the other one and landing expertly on his feet. Staggering slightly, Axel winced at the shock that rippled up his ankles from the high leap. But he brushed it away angrily, growling as he broke into a quick sprint, heading for the cottage. Even if he didn't know what Maleficent was planning fully, he knew it couldn't be anything good. At all.

She had been promised to be the one to kill Sora after she held up her end of the bargain.

…Had she come here to fulfill her needs?

The thought made him quicken his pace, and without knowing how close he was to the house, Axel slammed right smack into the door. The bang seemed to erupt in the silence, and the red-haired crashed into the ground, wincing as he rubbed his head. Recovering quickly, Axel regained his footing, shooting up and throwing open the door. It was obvious from his recent crash-in with the door that his appearance had been announced. The others in the house had completely stopped whatever they were doing. Even Aerith and Kairi were giving him a look like he had sprouted wings.

"…What were you-"

"No time to explain!" Axel hissed, keeping his voice down even when he cut Kairi off. Stepping inside rapidly, he shut the door behind him softly. The others were still looking at him weird. Mickey even managed to look a little weirded out, and he was standing on a table because he was too short to talk to Merlin directly. Looking over to Aerith and Kairi, he rushed forward, arms already out in front of him. "Give me Sora!" He whispered harshly, green eyes frantic.

"No way!" Riku yelled sharply where he stood with Leon. "Leave him alone!"

"You gotta trust me!" Axel said, voice raising an octave as he glanced over at the door. "Look, just give me Sora now, we have to hide him before she comes!" The odd looks changed into startled at once, startled and confused. Kairi exchanged looks with Aerith, looking miffed. Mickey's eyes narrowed at the words, turning and nodding briskly at Riku. The teen looked more than angered, and confused.

"You're just going to give Sora away like that!" Riku asked, perplexed.

"I'm just going to hide him!" Axel pressed, knowing they were running short of time. "I-I'll just go back behind the door, you can watch me!" Glancing over his shoulder at the door once more, he pressed quickly. "If you care at all about Sora, you'll give him to me. It's Maleficent!" Everybody immediately gaped, eyes widening with fright as heads whipped around to face the door. Stooping down low, Aerith scooped Sora up from where he was motionless on the bed. For a moment, Axel wondered if she was going to buckle underneath the boy's weight, after all, she didn't look very strong. But she picked him up with ease, and Axel felt a flash of guilt.

"You'll be careful?" She asked softly, eyes round with fright and concern. "Don't reopen his wounds…"

"We have no time for this!" Riku butted in. "Just give him to me!"

"She probably thinks I'm dead, you idiot!" Axel shoved him to the side, green eyes narrowed and blazing. "I would LOVE to keep it that way!"

"Axel is right, Riku." Mickey said flatly. "Let him take Sora. Maleficent will be here any moment, we have no time for this bickering!" He kept his voice in a harsh whisper, narrowed eyes boring into his friend as he spoke. Growling, Riku watched Axel through angered eyes as the red-head held out his arms for Sora, still panicking. Leaning over, Aerith handed the keybearer to the old Organization Member. He was a lot lighter than Axel had anticipated. Turning around swiftly, he saw with a small hint of gratitude as Kairi rushed past him, heading for the door at the end of the room, opening it for him. Yuffie rushed over to the wall, grabbing the large box in which the Christmas tree was currently being held.

Rushing through the doorway quickly, Axel blinked, surprised to see stairs leading up a ways. He had no time to say anything before Kairi shut the door softly behind him, shutting him inside the new room. A scraping sound from the other side of the door signaled Yuffie shoving the large box in front of their hiding place, as to shield it from view. Then silence.

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No sooner had Yuffie stepped away from the door and faced the front did the door burst open without warning. Everybody jumped, eyes flying wide open. Standing in the doorway was none other than Maleficent, black robe fluttering around her as she gazed menacingly around her at the people clustered into the house. She eyed the Christmas decorations that had yet to be put up, upper lip curling in disgust as she did so. Her eyes kept probing the room, nobody uttering a noise as they watched her. Mickey's eyes slowly narrowed into furious slits, Riku looked ready to dash at her and slit her throat. Kairi looked sick, as if she couldn't bear to keep on looking at the witch.

Finally, she spoke, her cold voice sending shivers down everyone's spine. "Where is he?" She said, somehow making it so that it was statement, not a question. Her eyes were chips of flint, and it was obvious that she would not take no for an answer. Yuffie's hands balled into fists at her sides, preparing herself in case she needed to summon her weapons. She couldn't fathom this kind of situation going by without a fight. She just hoped that her standing here would not give away the secret door behind her. Leon glanced over at her for the briefest of a moment, and she knew that he was thinking the same thing.

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Riku growled through gnashed teeth.

Clearly, Maleficent did not believe a word. "I was given a deal by the Organization." She explained coolly, eyes still boring into the room. "And I intend to finish that deal, no matter what happened to those pathetic dogs. I was promised the keybearer, and since I have held up my end of the deal, I am fully prepared to earn what is rightfully mine." Yuffie twitched at this, but to her credit, did not call the witch out, being wise and keeping her mouth shut.

"The Organization is gone now. Every last one of them." Mickey said firmly, voice not wavering in the slightest. "Whatever deal you had with them, you might as well forget it. So I suggest that you leave before we do something that we'll surely regret later." His tail was twitching behind him, and Yuffie guessed that he would have rather leapt at her right now. But it was unwise. A fight now would risk Sora and Axel getting found. It wouldn't take a lot for that box to fall, she guessed. Kairi's eyes strayed, anxious gaze resting on Yuffie, almost pleadingly. She merely smiled in response, hoping it would be enough comfort.

"Really?" Maleficent mused, eyes flashing. "Every last one of them, hmm? Are you sure?"

If Mickey was surprised by her knowledge, he did not show it. "Get out, Maleficent." He said, losing control of his temper as his voice raised slightly. "I'm going to let you off with a warning, which is far more than you deserve. We have no idea where Sora is, we couldn't find him back at the Organization's castle. We announced him dead already."

"You are lying through your teeth, you insufferable little wretch!" Maleficent suddenly shouted, Yuffie leaping backwards out of fright from the sudden volume. The witch was enraged, gripping her long staff so tight that her knuckles turned a lighter shade of green. But she wasn't as mad as Riku had gotten, pushed over the edge at the harsh words for the King. The man rushed forward, letting out a loud yell as he ran, keyblade shimmering brightly in his hand as he ran. Raising his up, he prepared to bring it down on the witch, the King jerking forward, one hand out. "Riku, NO!" The mouse shouted.

Before Riku could strike down, Maleficent raised her hand calmly, bright green flame shooting out from her palm. The fire engulfed Sora's friend, stinging and burning his skin as soon as it made contact. Riku feel to the ground, hissing and screaming in pain as the fire wrapped tighter around him. Yuffie's mouth dropped open, stomach twisting at the pain-filled scene. She thought that the fire would keep going until Riku eventually couldn't go on, but gradually the flames died down, leaving Riku gasping wide-eyed on the floor.

Immediately, Kairi dashed forward, despite Maleficent standing only a few feet away from the injured friend. Reaching into her pocket, Kairi withdrew a small potion bottle, tipping it over and spreading it evenly along Riku's burns. Mickey stood still for a moment, eyes wide as he looked down in concern at his friend. But then he snapped his head back up, glaring furiously at Maleficent. He opened his mouth to yell something out to her, but the witch spoke first, cutting him off.

"Let's make our own sort of deal, shall we?" The woman sneered, leering over at the mouse. But then her smile faded, a new, grim look coming over her face. "Tomorrow at this time, I will release a swarm of heartless to each and every world, including your's." Leon gasped, lurching forward as if he would have liked to slash at the woman like Riku had tried to do. But before he could even move, a small ring of fire circled quickly around Maleficent, tall flames lapping up and flickering across her face. Almost like a force field. Leon growled, staying where he was. "They will swarm like locusts, and they will devour each world until there is nothing left of it."

Shocked looks were shared throughout the house, nobody moving at her words. They were too stunned to even try and object. But Mickey seemed to only get angrier, fisting his hands at his sides and trembling where he stood, glowering over at the witch, who went on as if nothing had happened. "Each of your worlds will be torn to pieces, and there is nothing you can do to stop it." She paused a moment. "Unless, of course…you give me the keyblade bearer."

Silence.

She smirked at the lack of words, feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over her. "You have until tomorrow to decide what you will do. Otherwise your world as you know it will drastically change." Without another word, she waved her hand, the fire that had been acting like a shield around her sweeping forward and wrapping around her. It only lasted a matter of moments before she had disappeared, leaving only glowing embers to show that she had been there.

Still nobody spoke.

Mickey straightened, looking around at the people around him with wide eyes. They didn't seem to know what to think, exchanging conflicted looks, some murmuring a few words to the person next to them. Did they think he should go through this deal? The thought was enough to make the mouse's heart skip a beat. He couldn't go through with something like this! Sora had saved them all before, he had been well on his way to perform the feat a second time! The thought of handing him over willingly was simply one that Mickey did not want to think about.

Merlin broke the silence, pointing his wand at the now-charred circle of the house. Water shot out from the tip of the magical thing, streaming forward and making a sizzling noise as it collided with the embers. He grumbled to himself, non-important things like the house burning down. Or the floor being stained from now on. He was avoiding the topic at hand, like everybody else seemed to want to do. Riku pushed himself up, recovered thanks to the potion that Kairi had given him. The red-head looked at her friend with worry, but did not object to his movement, keeping her mouth shut.

"We aren't going to actually give into her, right?" Riku asked, disbelief edging his tone.

Mickey turned to face him, eyes troubled and worried. For a moment, he couldn't find his voice, floundering for a moment. But then he finally took control of himself, ducking his head and shaking it slowly back and forth. "…I don't know." The king mumbled softly. Yuffie turned at the back of the room, pushing the box out of the way, Axel stepping out. Sora was safe, the Organization Member had accomplished that at least. Mickey caught the look in the man's eyes, and he knew that he had heard the whole exchange.

"I just don't know." The King sighed.

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A/N: BUT I DEW o3o

Marching band is tonight for a few hours, so I had to cut this short. But hey, at least my sister isn't the reason this time, right? XD

Is anybody going to Natsucon? It's an Anime Convention in Collinsville Illinois, I'm going as Sora, and it would be cool to see any one of you. If you are going.

WE'RE SO CLOSE TO 400! I FEEL SO FLUFFY :D


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: WE MADE IT PAST 400! :D I'm soooo happy! ^^

Thank you for all your reviews, they really mean a lot to me : )

I have a rough idea of a fanfiction for Kingdom Hearts, but I'm not sure I'll try it. It's based off of a role-play my sister and I started and held for a long time because it was so awesome. But it had a LOT of crossovers, so I'm not sure at all if I'll even try to upload it.

**Emphasis **

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A lot of time had passed, that was all Roxas knew. In the thick of darkness like this, one was unable to keep track of the minutes, hours, maybe even days that went by. All you knew was the suffocating blanket of black that shrouded the place, giving it a stuffy, almost unnerving atmosphere. Roxas was completely at ease here, though, unlike Sora, who had started lagging behind a long time ago. The Nobody had spent countless days in this darkness, a few more tacked onto that span did nothing to ruffle the boy's skin. He was supposed to be just apart of the shadows anyway.

But never before had he started ebbing away like this. Unease flickered in his chest like a trapped bird straining to get out. Wariness was something that Roxas didn't let himself show a lot of the times, he was usually so calm and collected. But to see himself slowly melting away almost, was enough to make him quicken his pace. It must be because of the weird situation they were in, it wasn't like Roxas ever anticipated even talking to Sora, let alone walking with him in this place. The whole thing was something that Roxas couldn't quite grasp, leaving him floundering for an answer that would save them both. There was no doubt in his mind by now. If they didn't get out soon enough, both him and Sora would eventually have to stop. Would melt away into the shadows.

Even now, Roxas could barley see himself when he looked down. He was a lot worse than he was back when him and Sora had encountered that weird man that had been conjured by the darkness. Much worse, actually. He would be the first to fade away, he had realized a while ago. He had not warned Sora of this, more than aware of the state that the keybearer was already in. But after Roxas faded away, Sora would surely follow in his footsteps. Thoughts getting the best of him, he turned, irritation making his voice sharper than he meant it to. "Can you pick up your feet or anything?" He demanded coldly, glaring at Sora crossly.

"Sor-ree!" Sora growled, looking just as angry as his Nobody did. "Maybe if you weren't practically running, I would actually be able to keep up with you!" His blue eyes flashed crossly, patience wearing thinner than he would have liked. "Stop running and I'll actually be able to walk next to you! Not that you would want that." He added bitterly. "I know that you've hated me ever since I first talked to you." The words made Roxas stop, blinking rapidly as Sora kept walking, in order to catch up to him finally. The statement was…regrettably true, in hindsight. And yet they also caused a flicker of guilt to cross over Roxas's features.

Sora seemed to catch the expression, shrugging it as if pushing it out of context. "Forget I said anything." The keybearer said firmly, looking over at him with a renewed sense, it seemed. "I take it back." His blue eyes looked Roxas up and down, and the Nobody winced inwardly at the concern that Sora showed for him, despite the way that he had treated him. "You okay?" He asked finally, bridging over the silence that had formed between them like a thin cobweb. "We can stop if you want, I don't care."

Instantly, Roxas lunged forward, clapping a hand tightly over the boy's mouth. Sora's eyes widened, blinking rapidly as shock shone in his blue orbs. "Don't say that!" He said crossly, narrowed eyes clashing with Sora's own. "Of course you care! You care about everything, so shut up and don't forget things like that!" The boy's frayed nerves showed plainly in his voice as he spoke in a rush, and it was obvious in Sora's eyes that he thought Roxas was going crazy. But the intensity in Roxas's eyes was enough to keep Sora from shrugging his Nobody off of him, the keybearer merely standing still and waiting until Roxas got enough control over himself to lower his hand on his own.

Sora COULDN'T keep saying things like that. Whether he had been using it just as an excuse for Roxas to rest, or whether he actually meant that he didn't care, it didn't really matter. The darkness was just like the ocean, if you will. If Sora didn't pay enough attention to where he was going, what he was and wasn't feeling anymore, a wave of it could rush up and make him crash into the ground. It would sweep him away and Roxas would be unable to do anything for him. He had to keep his head high and make sure that he stayed…himself. Otherwise they would sink faster than the Titanic.

"Sorry." Roxas said thinly, finally realizing that Sora was starting to look annoyed. Dropping his hand to his side, he looked Sora over a moment or two, trying to sort through his thoughts. Turning, Roxas stared at the empty darkness above them, eyes raised slightly as if he could actually see the hill which they were climbing. It seemed like no matter how far they went, they didn't get any farther. Voicing his worries, Roxas looked over at Sora, nerved by now. "We're not getting anywhere." He complained, voice a little higher than he meant it to come out.

Sora blinked, peering over Roxas and narrowing his eyes against the darkness. "We've been walking so far." The keybearer pointed out. "I can't even remember the last time my feet didn't hurt." Roxas blinked, tilting his head to the side as he wondered whether or not Sora was joking. But the boy swept on without waiting for Roxas to ask. "I bet wherever this leads to is really close." He assured his Nobody. "Or at least…closer than before."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Roxas said, with a roll of his eyes. It wasn't like they could get very far. After Sora developed that bad limp in his leg again, Roxas felt like a slug that was weighted down with thick molasses. Like they were dragging a two-thousand ton weight behind them as they walked. Roxas couldn't get far ahead of Sora, and he couldn't leave him altogether. Which left the perfectly-fine Nobody walking like an older person of about a hundred. Shaking his head to clear it, he said flatly. "Maybe if we could manage to walk a little faster." He offered, not exactly wanting to beat around the bush. Back when Sora accused him of running, he was probably going about two miles an hour.

Resurfacing from his thoughts, Roxas jumped as he caught Sora staring at him. The keybearer's orbs were heavy with guilt, and Roxas knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. "Roxas…maybe you should just go on without me. I'm just slowing you down. You go ahead, I'll catch up with you." The boy smiled, but Roxas just glowered back at him, not amused. Sora would catch up to him in a million years, more like.

"Nice try." Roxas said stiffly. Guiltily remembering the mean way he had been acting, he added, trying to be a bit more friendly. "Looks like your stuck with me for a while. And I'm stuck with you." Glancing over his shoulder once more, he brushed on, not giving Sora chance to say anything else. "C'mon, we gotta keep going. Before anything else happens." The sentence made Sora start with surprise, looking back behind him as if he expected something to jump out at him. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes once more, Roxas forced himself to be in Sora's shoes, to just be coming into this swarm of darkness. At first, Roxas had acted just like him, though he hated to admit it. But at least then, the darkness didn't pose a threat like it was now to Sora. And him as well. Back then it was just…there.

"Come on, then." Roxas said, spinning around on his toe and marching forward, forcing his legs into action again. The brief rest had been welcoming, but Roxas wasn't about to let himself relax just yet. The stressful situation was enough to make Roxas a little bit more energized, putting a little more speed to his stride as he paced forward. Sora was obviously the opposite, plodding on only because Roxas was making him. The thought made Roxas's chest tighten. Before, Sora would have been running ahead of him. But now, he walked along with his head down, eyes closed, as if he had no strength to keep them up anymore. Mouth pressing into a thin line of resignation, Roxas faced forward and tried to focus on walking a little faster.

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The whole house was quiet once more, the brief festivities of Christmas smothered after the last few events. Even the fire seemed to die down, not as bright and quieting in its crackling. Yuffie stood over to the side of the crowd, looking doubtfully at the stockings and the box that held the Christmas tree. She was obviously rethinking her whole Christmas-thing by now. Which was right of her to do so. After all, what was she thinking in the first place? That she could stop this whole endeavor and put everybody's feelings on hold in order to celebrate some stupid holiday? It didn't make sense.

Axel was so busy fuming, that he did not hear footsteps come up behind him. "Give her a break." A quiet voice sliced through his thoughts, making him jump. Turning, Axel didn't see anybody at first. But then he looked down, catching sight of the King, who stood beside him, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes were sad as he looked at Yuffie, who was so immersed in her thoughts, she didn't hear them talking. "At least she's trying to break everybody's low spirits." The mouse soothed, glancing up at the Ex-Organization member with unnaturally-wise eyes.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Axel opened his mouth to say something back to the mouse, but was cut off as Riku spoke up from where he sat with Kairi and Merlin at the table. Aerith had made tea, passing it out with a strained smile. Axel had noticed that for some reason, Leon had been reluctant to take the cup from the nurse. Axel could see him where he stood beside Yuffie, glaring down at the liquid almost suspiciously. Almost made him a little bit more happy he had refused the drink. "So what are we going to do?" Riku asked, raising his eyebrows as he spoke.

He was the first one to bring up the situation since it had happened an hour ago. The others seemed a little relieved that they did not have to be the person to say something first. This seemed to rouse Yuffie, the ninja turning with a thoughtful look on her face, along with her partner, who still eyed the tea a moment before looking up. Cid pushed himself away from the computer, eyes flashing as he looked over at Mickey, as everybody else did. The mouse started at all the eyes on him, Axel would have figured he'd be used to it by now.

Before he could say anything, Kairi cut through the quiet, pushing herself up from the table with narrowed eyes. "We can't let her have Sora!" The Princess of Heart called out, eyes accusing as she glared at Mickey. "At least- I wont let her. If nobody else will fight, then I will." Axel had to admit a flash of respect to the girl. It seemed pretty obvious that she had little to NO fighting skills. He wouldn't like to picture her going up to face Maleficent on her own.

Riku was obviously thinking the same thing, looking down at her for a moment before standing up as well. "I'm with Kairi." He growled, hands fisting where they rested on the surface of the table. "I've dealt with her before, I can do it again." Axel raised an eyebrow almost in disbelief. Was that true? From what Axel heard, Sora had been the one to kill Maleficent the first time around, which explained her immense hatred for the boy. Didn't Riku do something along the lines of….**making it more difficult for Sora to kill her**? At least, that's what he got from rumors. But he supposed right now it would be best to keep his mouth shut.

"Now hang on a minute-" Mickey started.

"I'll take a piece of that." Yuffie said firmly, eyes narrowing slowly. Her right hand fisted tightly, and Axel wondered whether or not she was thinking of slicing through the witch's skin already. "With more of us against her, it'll be a lot easier. And after all she's done against Hollow Bastian and Sora, I'll gladly ninja-kick her to the moon." Her eyes flashed at the words as she spoke. Leon walked forward a pace or two to stand beside her, raising a hand and resting it on the girl's shoulder. He looked just as determined as her, and he gave a small nod in turn.

Mickey blinked, opening his mouth to say something, but Aerith spoke up. "I know I'm not much of a fighter," She started, a little nervously. "But that still doesn't mean I'll stand by and let my friend get taken. It would be wrong of us to give Sora over without a fight like this. He's risked his life time and time again to help us…we wouldn't be able to call ourselves his friend if we weren't ready to do the same for him as well."

Mickey had been silently waiting for everybody stop interrupting him, sweeping the crowd expectantly a moment longer, to make sure nobody would want to add themselves in. When nobody spoke, he dipped his head in a small nod, smiling as he did so. "I never said we would do anything like handing Sora over." He said, the others blinking at this. "Aerith is exactly right when she says that Sora helped us many times over in the past. Giving into Maleficent would be heartless and cruel. We're Sora's friends, and we'll be here to help him now."

But when he raised his head, his eyes were shadowed with worry. "But we'll have to be careful about it." He said eventually. "And we'll have to do it soon. Maleficent meant what she said, so the attack will have to be in less that twenty-four hours. Sora, Donald, and Goofy managed to defeat her once, and I'm sure with more people to our forces, we'll be able to do the same just as easily. Maybe even easier." He glanced over at Donald and Goofy gratefully, the two seeming almost shy as everybody looked over at them. "I don't think that Maleficent knows what she's getting into." Mickey said with a sly smile.

Leon smiled, looking around at his friends with a grin. "Let's show her what the Hollow Bastian Restoration Committee is really made of!" He called, cheers and whoops erupting from those that were in the group. Kairi and Riku just glanced at each other with a small shrug, but twin smiles all the same. Though…it might have been Axel imagination, but he thought he saw a flicker of unease in Riku's eyes. Tilting his head to the side, Axel's forehead creased slightly. What did he had to be worried about? Wasn't he the one who-

"So?" Axel jumped once again, looking down wildly at the King, who looked up at him expectantly. When he blinked rapidly, confused on what the King had asked him, the mouse looked up at him curiously. "Are you going to help us against Maleficent?" Axel twitched at the question, realizing that the mouse didn't sound very enthusiastic. He thought he wouldn't go through with it, probably. With a start, Axel realized that mostly everybody in the room was staring at him, waiting for him to answer. Save for Cid, who had turned back to his computer, and Aerith, who sidled past the pair and went through the door on the far end of the room, heading upstairs.

Did they have nothing better to do!? Trying not to show the fact that the unwanted attention irritated him, Axel made an effort to smooth himself out before he spoke. "…Yeah, I guess so." He grumbled, losing his cool and glaring at the people watching him. A few of the others looked just as irritated, Leon and Riku rolling their eyes at the hostility. But Kairi and Yuffie both smiled gently at him, and Axel glowered as he realized they had expected that answer from him. Merlin was also smiling, but Axel tried not to notice that. Did everybody think that he was some kind of soft person now? Why couldn't they go back to hating him! Axel preferred that, suddenly.

Mickey seemed slightly surprised, but recovered quickly. "Aright then." He said, trying to hide his shock. Giving Axel a smile that seemed to mirror Yuffie and Kairi's (which Axel tried to ignore) the mouse turned over to Riku and Merlin expectantly. "Do we still have enough potions for everybody?" He asked his two friends. Frankly, Axel wondered if they could have possible already run out of potions. There was a whole pile somewhere around here that Kairi had told him about before.

Merlin gave a nod, gesturing upstairs. "That's probably where Aerith is off to." Merlin said, a smile on his face when he spoke. "She's quite the sharp one." He added. His eyes were warm, and it was probably apparent to everybody of the way he had grown quite fond of the girl. Well, Axel heard before that a tragedy was all that was needed to draw people together. All joking aside.

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Mickey watched as Axel headed out the door, back to wherever the man went off to at nights to sleep. Probably renting out a local room in the hotel that was in the Town Square. Standing outside the house, the mouse could not help but close his eyes, letting his recent fear and worry swamp over him. All his troubles and fears wove a web in his head, and Mickey's hands balled into fists as he ducked his head. The all-too familiar scene came to his mind, back when he had been battling with Xemnas, trying his best to win fast, in hopes of finding Sora before anything else could befall onto the boy.

The rain pelted down in the clearing like missiles, the sound of it the only thing pressing on Mickey's ears for a moment. Xemnas stood a ways away from him, staggering with exhaustion already. The King knew that time was of the essence, he had spent enough time fighting, he knew that the others would be searching for him soon. Gritting his teeth angrily, Mickey rushed forward, golden keyblade glinting in the watery light that surrounded them. Rushing forward, the mouse swiped forward, catching Xemnas on the shoulder as he rushed past. Before the Organization Member could do anything, Mickey pulled his arm down as hard as he could manage, keyblade's tip still looped over the man's arm.

Xemnas crashed down to the ground, sending water up in all directions where he landed. Mickey changed his spot quickly, swiping his keyblade up so that it stuck through Xemnas's shoulder and down to the ground. Holding the man in place, Mickey stood on his other arm, doing his best to pin the man down despite the fact he was ten times smaller than his opponent. But Xemnas was obviously beaten, panting where he lay on the ground, eyes still burning with defiance no matter the position he was in.

Leaning down close to the man's face, Mickey spoke down coldly to the man, a sense of anger than nobody but Sora and Donald had heard, after Goofy was supposedly dead. His eyes were narrowed chips of flint, and his gaze bored into Xemnas angrily. "Where is Sora?" The mouse demanded, voice flat as cold as ice. Xemnas glared up at him, refusing to speak. Losing patience and knowing very well of the immense pain that Sora could be enduring right now, Mickey raised his voice to a yell, leaning to the side and putting a little weight onto the keyblade, causing Xemnas to gasp. "Tell me now!" Mickey screamed. "Otherwise I swear that I will kill you!"

To Mickey's surprise, laughs bubbled up from Xemnas's lips, the man going into a fit of almost hysterical laughter. Caught off-guard, Mickey blinked, not knowing exactly what to do with a laughing Organization Member. It wasn't everyday somebody laughed like that when their life was on the line. But suddenly, Xemnas ducked his head, eyes glinting evilly in the city's dim light. "He's a goner." The man said darkly, still laughing somewhat. "I've made sure of that."

"…Y-You're wrong!" Mickey snapped.

"Am I?" Xemnas asked. He started to laugh once more. "It was the perfect plan. A work of genius." By now he was babbling, and yet, Mickey listened, the same look of anger and defiance on his face. "To capture the keyblade bearer and use his skills to fulfill Kingdom Hearts in a much quicker magnitude than before." A faint shadow crossed over his face as he continued on. "At first, it seemed impossible when we finally managed to bring him here. It seemed as if he wouldn't cave…wouldn't give into our darkness in order to bend to our will."

Mickey twitched, tightening his hold on his gleaming keyblade. Xemnas ignored the reaction, a grim smile crawling over his face. "And yet once we figured out his weakness it was so easy. So simple." He started to chuckle once again. "When Sora escaped on his own, it seemed like the end of our magnificent plan. But when caught him alone…with those two sidekicks of his. And we killed them." Mickey gasped sharply, eyes widening with anxiousness and confusion as he jerked back, as if slapped. This just made Xemnas laugh harder. "Stabbed both of them, right in front of the boy. You should have seen his face, it was delicious! The pathetic child started to cry!"

"Shut up!" Mickey yelled sharply, twisting his keyblade sharply to the side, which was still buried deep inside Xemnas's shoulder. Xemnas started to emit shadows from his body, the smoky substance looking almost like water as it pooled out of him like blood. The Organization Member flinched, and Mickey could see the defeat in his eyes. He knew he had been beat. But suddenly, Mickey yearned for the truth. Riku had kept things from him, now he knew. He had not known of this happening to Sora, the thought and mental images of the scene making the King's heart wrench. Shaking himself roughly in order to shove the thoughts away, the King drew himself up, eyes narrowing. "Then what happened?" He asked through gritted teeth. He had to know the truth, no matter how much it strained him to listen.

For a moment, he thought that Xemnas had not heard him. He opened his mouth to repeat the words, but Xemnas opened his mouth, managing to speak even as he started to disappear. His feet were melting away it seemed, and the sensation was slowly traveling up his body. Mickey was pressed on time once again, but this was more important than meeting up with the others. After all, how much of this did they know? More than him? Or less?

Xemnas started to speak once more, glaring at the King as he continued. It was like he knew that there was no hope left. What better way to spend the last few moments of you life than bragging about your near-excellent plan? "We took him back." He growled through clenched teeth. "But we knew that he wouldn't last the subdued way he was." Another flicker of sadism trickled into his voice. "We tortured a maiden and her prince…friends of Sora's. Even the Beast knew that there was no way out of helping us. We tortured them…recorded it on a tape and played it for him."

Mickey froze, eyes wide. Belle and the Beast? Was that what he was talking about? Were they okay? Or did they kill them? The thought sent his blood boiling, not to mention the way they used their pain. This was beyond anything that King Mickey had experienced before as King, actions that he didn't even want to comprehend, let alone happen to one of his good friends. A pang of sadness shook him so great that Mickey thought he would topple over where he stood right now. A thought whispered in the back of his mind, regretful and earnest. "You told him not to keep going." It murmured over to him softly. "And yet you let him go when he didn't listen. Maybe if you had tried harder to get him to stay back…"

"Everything was going according to plan." Xemnas murmured, voice growing weaker. Mickey blinked, looking over his shoulder down at the man's body. Half of it had already bled away into the shadows. "Until those two wretched people came in to save that stupid girl." He growled bitterly. Raising the hand that was not injured, he reached up towards Kingdom Hearts, as if he thought he would be able to touch it. "…We were so close." He rasped, looking with a hint of desperation at the small sliver of the moon that had not been filled. "So close…to being whole." He murmured, hand falling back down to the ground.

Suddenly, Mickey felt a rush of white-hot anger. "Sora wouldn't have broken that easily." He said, almost trying to fool himself. Xemnas looked over at him, yellow eyes managing to look condescending. "He knew he had friends here that were going to help him." Mickey continued firmly. "He knew that I wouldn't just let him rot with you lot. He would have had faith."

Another laugh. Yet this one was harsh, void of humor. Xemnas was losing strength fast. The shadows had eaten away at his midsection, and Mickey debated whether or not it was safe for him to take his keyblade back yet. "That was the first thing he said." Xemnas explained, voice grating in his throat. "He had been there less than a day, yet he was already defying us." That was more like the Sora Mickey was familiar with. "We told him that if he tried to escape, we would kill every one of them. And you…" Xemnas snickered roughly under his breath. "We told him that you didn't care…that you weren't going to come. And he believed us! The fool…you should have seen him, though." He added, still snickering. "The way he thought that you wouldn't care enough for him to return…how easy it was to break the heart of one that seemed so strong."

Mickey wanted to tear off the man's head, and yet he retrained himself to yanking his keyblade back and holding it closer to him. Stepping away from Xemnas, Mickey felt anger rise to a blush on his face. "Well, it didn't work." He snapped. "We're going to find Sora, and your plan will have all been for nothing." Turning around angrily, Mickey started to stomp away, too caught up in his own fury. A scuffling sounded behind him, and before Mickey could do anything, something caught him from the shirt collar, pulling him back. Xemnas's weapon shot out, red light blazing up at him as the man held his sword next to the mouse's throat, burning and stinging him in the process.

"Do not be fooled." Xemnas growled into the King's ear. "You may think you have a friend amongst you, but do not be tricked by him. He knows where his true loyalties lie, just remember that. You think that everything will be safe after this? Think again!" The King's eyes widened, but he did not have enough time to ask what Xemnas was talking about. Xemnas's grip slackened, the weapon falling with the man. Whirling around, heart beating rapidly, Mickey's eyes flashed back and forth rapidly, searching for Xemnas.

But he had vanished. Melted all the way into the shadows. "No…" Mickey mumbled, hands flying up wildly to press against either side of his head. Rushing back and forth between the two sides of the city street, Mickey searched vainly for his enemy. But he had disappeared. "Tell me what you mean!" The King pressed, panicking. "WHO do you mean!"

But the only thing that called back to him was thunder.

He sighed, brought back to the present by footsteps behind him. Riku walked through the door, closing it behind him. Standing beside him, the teen glanced down at the King, a slightly guilty look on his face. "Are you alright?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as he did so. Eyes flashing over to his friend, Mickey caught the sorry look in his eyes, a faint smile spreading over his mouth. No matter what Riku was trying to keep back, his eyes would never be able to lie along with him.

"You're feeling bad because you didn't tell me the whole story." Mickey guessed aloud.

Riku huffed, always angered by the fact that his feelings could be detected so easily by the mouse. Bu anybody really. "I'm sorry." He sighed, shoulders sagging. "It's just that I…didn't want to make…." He growled under his breath, closing his eyes as he did so. He looked a little lost. "I didn't want to make it sound like Sora was weaker than he really was." He said finally, eyes certain as he opened them once more. "I thought maybe if I didn't tell you…it would have seemed more like it never happened. That Sora was still…normal. The way he was always."

Mickey nodded slightly, understanding. "But it was important." He said finally, looking reproachfully at his friend. "Friends don't keep things from others. And I hope in the future that you'll trust me a bit more." Riku opened his mouth, probably going to say that it wasn't that reason he didn't tell what he saw. But Mickey brushed on, not wanting to get into an argument. They've had enough of those, he thought with a flicker of guilt. "Round the others up, we're going to plan our attack." Raising his eyes to the stars, he spoke once more. "We need to be quick."

"Shouldn't Axel be here too?" Riku asked, looking over to where the man had rounded the corner.

Mickey followed his gaze, feeling conflicted. "…He can catch up." He said finally. "He doesn't like to be here for a long time, I wont make him stay. The others don't trust him enough, anyway. We don't want to push it by making him stay any longer than he needs to." Riku muttered agreement, turning and heading back into the house. Mickey did not follow, listening instead as the door closed behind the keyblade wielder.

His eyes stayed glued to where Axel had disappeared, a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Please let me be wrong." He murmured, raising his eyes to the sky. The stars glinted back at him, not giving him any type of answer. A reproachful voice sounded in the back of his mind, cross and angered. "Sora TRUSTED him." It snapped. "Why can't you trust Sora and do the same?" Closing his eyes tightly, Mickey shook his head to clear it, like shaking off a bad dream. The truth…that was all Mickey wanted.

Which one was lying?

With a sinking feeling, Mickey realized that he didn't know which person to believe.

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A/N: I was going to add more to this, but my fingers hurt from typing so fast XD And it's already like ten pages long. Next chapter shall be epic and awesome! IF I get a lot of reviews ;3

Actually, I don't know whether or not I'll be able to update tomorrow or Sunday. Tomorrow I have marching band in the morning, and then afterwards, I'm going to my grammas' house. And I don't like updating before I go there because they have bad wifi and I can't check my reviews. And then I come home Sunday…then I'm going bowling with my friend…so I dunno. I'll have to try though, because I have Transition Day on Monday for Freshman. So…I'll have to try XDD

I might not get to update for a few days…

Stupid School ;^;


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Hopefully I get this out. I've been wanting to write this chapter (or at least the Sora half) for a while ;3

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"Are we all ready to go?" Mickey asked earnestly, glancing out the window that was a few inches above his head. The sun was making quick progress in climbing higher in the sky, and their time was on the line by now. They had taken more than enough time to get ready for this attack, and it had taken enough time for Merlin and Mickey to figure out where Maleficent was in hiding. It had taken most of the night, and Mickey was itching to get off by now.

The mouse threw another worried glance over at that bed where Sora was temporarily. He wouldn't be there for much longer, Aerith and Merlin were working on a way to move both the bed and the patient upstairs. In case something went wrong, which shouldn't happen if Mickey had something to say about it. Merlin was practicing a levitating spell on a nearby cup, looking almost anxious at the thought of performing yet more magic on Sora. Aerith was trying her best to find out how much the bed weigh. Which was hard to do with somebody laying on top of it.

The sound of voices made Mickey start, turning towards the noise. Riku was looking almost nervously at Kairi, the girl merely glared at him in a response. Her blue eyes were irritated and angered, Mickey wondered if the two had fallen out or something along the lines. They usually seemed to happy of one another's company. Goofy and Donald stood off to the side, watching with worried looks on their faces. Riku was in the middle of talking already, leaning forward slightly to look into Kairi's irritated face. "Look, I didn't mean that." He was revising himself. "I just meant that maybe you should stay here instead of going with us to go fight."

"What, because I can't fight?" She demanded, voice holding a little trace of sassiness. She put her hands on her hips, blue eyes boring into Riku's cloak. She was far from angry by now. "Do you think I can't fight as well as you?" She demanded hotly. "Maybe I shouldn't be here at all, if you think I'm just a waste of space!" Mickey started, not knowing that somebody who seemed so gentle could yell like that. Kairi always seemed so sensible and kind to talk to. But behind her angered look, Mickey detected a pang of sadness, a sort of anguish that she was trying to smother, it seemed. The mouse smiled sadly at then newfound fact, taking a step forward and maybe try to calm the situation. But Riku spoke once more before he could move.

"No, of course not. I don't want you to go anywhere." Riku said smoothly, trying to stay relaxed. His eyes flashed over to Goofy and Donald, and Mickey could tell that he didn't appreciate the audience. "I just…I don't want to put any more friends at risk than I already am." The boy said, a little regretfully. "I already lost Sora…or came too close to losing him. I wouldn't want to even think of losing you as well." When Kairi opened her mouth for a stinging retort, Riku backtracked rapidly. "And I don't doubt your fighting skills, I bet they're really good."

Mickey blinked. Did Kairi HAVE any fighting skills?

Riku pressed on, not giving Kairi any chance to interrupt him. But that looked like that was all she wanted to do. "And if you'll be honest…Aerith and Cid's fighting skills are a little rusty." He lowered his voice at this, Mickey having to strain to hear the last bit. Kairi blinked, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. Aerith, Merlin, and Cid were all staying back at the house to hold it while the rest went out to fight. And to look after Sora. It would have been just like Maleficent to make a threat like this and then attack before the time was due. Glancing back over at the three, Kairi narrowed her eyes, looking back at Riku. Her expression had changed from annoyance to slight interest, looking expectantly at her friend. "If you stay here with Merlin, I'll know that there are at least two great fighters here to hold up if anything goes wrong."

The red-haired girl's shoulders started to loosen, and Mickey smiled. Riku had managed to say all the right things, it seemed. "…Alright then." She said, drawing herself up to full height. She tilted her chin up, as if feeling the importance that Riku had weaseled into her. "Then I'll stay back and help Aerith and them make the transition." She stated firmly, as if there had never been any argument over it. "If you guys don't manage it, I wont let Maleficent take one footstep inside here."

Riku smiled, relief in his voice. "I know you'll be able to do it."

The two stared at one another, bridge of memories seeming to pass between the two as they looked at one another. Mickey blinked, trying to debate on whether or not to break it up. But then Riku turned to him, eyes gleaming in his readiness to be off. "Should we get going, then?" He asked the King, hands fisting at his sides. Mickey caught the movement, wondering if he was already picturing the witch dying in front of him. He certainly looked ready enough to perform the task already.

Shaking it off, Mickey scanned the ready fighting force in front of him, loaded with potions and the will to fight for their friend. Wherever Sora was, Mickey hoped with all his heart that the keybearer could see his friends right now, ready and poised to fight with every fiber to protect him. Mickey smiled wistfully as the thought came into his head. He could picture Sora the way he used to be, bright-eyed and maybe a little irritatingly-stubborn, a large, beaming smile on his face as he looked at what was in front of the King.

"…ahem…" Mickey jerked as he realized that everybody was staring at him.

Looking out the window, the King narrowed his eyes. The sun was already well above the horizon. They had to get going soon. Their twenty-four hours were almost up. "Right then." He said firmly, giving a small nod as he looked back at the others in front of him. "This is the second big battle that we've been in." The mouse clarified. "And I know that compared to beating the Organization Members, this will be a piece of cake." As he looked through the crowd, his eyes landed on Axel, and the same twisting feeling started in his stomach. He couldn't help but feel it every time he looked at him. The man looked just as ready as the others, waiting for the King to lead the way outside. And yet…Mickey shook his head roughly, spinning around and stomping outside. And yet nothing. Axel had done nothing to make Mickey worry about his loyalty whatsoever. He had to banish these thoughts from his head, otherwise he'd drive himself crazy worrying over nothing.

Filing out of the door, the others followed in a neat cluster, faces turning grim as they walked forward. Everybody gripped their own weapons tightly, the Christmas Spirit that everybody had held before vanishing in an instant. They traveled in silence, something that had been brought up before. If they talked on the way there, their cover would be blown. But even now, Mickey wondered what they would have even talked about. Everybody looked a little nervous, except for Riku. But he was…Riku. Kairi waved to them as they left, and pretty soon, even her calls of good-luck couldn't be heard anymore.

The group was heading up through the Bailey, walking up a sloping hill and heading up to the Postern. Merlin had assured Mickey that Maleficent was somewhere around the area. Information that did little to help them, but Mickey wasn't about to be the one to tell his friend that. After all, a little information was better than nothing. Slowly, the mouse came to a stop in the middle of the small clearing, looking over to the gap that led into the wrecked castle. Silence griped the others, and none looked willing to be the first to speak.

But Yuffie stepped forward finally, slicing through the quiet. "Maybe she's hiding?" The Ninja suggested in what she hoped was a helpful manner. "Maybe we should split up and look for her." Others nodded, as if this idea appeased to them. Mickey caught Axel and Riku having almost twin looks on their faces, both looking less than enthused that the plan. Obviously, they both had ideas that would argue with her's. But Mickey wasn't about to let the others start bickering. He wouldn't put it past Axel or Riku to start a fight. In that moment, Mickey realized how similar the two men were.

"No." He said, before anybody else could say anything. Turning to look at Yuffie, he realized the girl looked a little put-out. "Not that your plan isn't good." He revised quickly. "It's just that I would rather us stay together, than everybody going separate ways. Who knows what's around here, after all." Actually, Goofy and Donald knew what was beyond there, as well as Leon and Yuffie. But Mickey was still reluctant in letting them all split apart. "It'd be best if we stayed together for now."

"Looking for somebody?" A cold voice sounded behind them. Jumping, the group whirled around, weapons already drawn as they looked towards the voice. Maleficent stood behind them, eyes narrowed dangerously as she caught sight of the armed Committee. But she smoothed herself out before they could catch her off-guard, gaze slightly mocking as she sought out the King. "Well then." She hissed, finally meeting eyes with the mouse. "What do you have to say for yourself? Have you come to tell me that I have won?"

It was a moment before Mickey replied, yet his voice was firm and steady. "No, Maleficent." He replied, holding her gaze bravely. "You haven't won. And you never will. We refuse to give into you, and we also refuse to let you destroy the other worlds. Your danger ends here, and we'll all make sure of it." He crouched down slightly as he ended the words, gripping his keyblade tightly. His eyes narrowed, and the others could see that he would not rest until he saw the witch seen to. Which would only make their task easier.

But the witch did not faze. Standing much more than a few feet from the group, she sniggered. Mickey relaxed slightly, blinking with confusion as he straightened. Before anybody could say anything, Maleficent started to chant out a spell, shadows merging up like waves in front of her. Yuffie gasped sharply as she saw the familiar gleam of the yellow heartless eyes shimmering from the shadows. "She's going to set the heartless lose anyway!" The Ninja cried out, explaining what didn't need to be explained. The others seemed fully aware of it. They all started to rush forward, but Yuffie knew it would be in vain hope. The spell was almost completed, and they were much too far to stop it.

But suddenly something whizzed right past Yuffie's head, avoiding her ear only by a few millimeters. Whirling around with wide eyes, Yuffie skidded to a stop, disbelieving eyes settling on Axel. Why was he aiming for her! Wasn't he their friend? The man's green eyes were shining intently as he looked forward, watching his weapon spiral through the air with a strange intensity. Turning, Yuffie let out a small mumble of surprise. Axel hadn't been aiming for her. He had been aiming for Maleficent. While he couldn't make it in time…his weapon could. The spiked Chakram sliced through the air, hitting its target dead-on.

The spiked weapon stabbed into Maleficent's hand, the witch's attention quickly reverted from her spell to her new injury. Letting out a shriek of pain, the villain watched in disbelief as the shadows that had slowly been forming heartless feel with a slap onto the ground. Like water, they melted away, streaming away in a thick clump until it disappeared. Furious, Maleficent turned to face the group, glaring daggers at the fast-approaching fighters. "Alright then." She snarled, curling her lip as she muttered. "If that's how you want to play, we can do it that way."

Mickey was first to reach Maleficent, a miracle considering he was the one with shortest legs. Jumping from the ground like he was flying, he shot straight over at the witch, raising his keyblade and giving her a well-aimed blow as he flashed past. Hissing, the witch whirled around to face him, Riku taking the moment and shooting a white beam of light from the end of his keyblade at her. The witch was clearly outnumbered, even she wouldn't be able to face off against six other people. It was double the amount of Sora, Goofy, and Donald, and even she couldn't face them for long.

Obviously, Maleficent knew the most dangerous of the group. Turning so quickly that she was a blur, Maleficent reached out towards Mickey, pointing one finger over at him as she called out a word Yuffie didn't recognize. At first, Yuffie thought that nothing had happened, Mickey was the same as he always was, standing calmly in front of her. But that was just it. Mickey was stiff as a board, eyes slowly widening and flickering quickly back and forth with panic. He was locked where he was, he couldn't move anymore.

"Your Majesty!" Goofy called out in panic, starting over towards him. But Axel reached over, grabbing his wrist and holding him back. Whirling around to face him, Goofy opened his mouth, looking like he would have liked to say a few sharp words in response to him. But Axel's eyes were honest, he wasn't trying to put Mickey in any more danger. Yuffie blinked, jarred. Was she the only one that was watching Axel so closely? She didn't know the feeling she got when she looked at him…

"Stay back!" The man ordered sharply. "He'll be fine! Our main point is Maleficent!"

Goofy looked conflicted, mouth open as he tried to find something to say. Donald flashed by, grabbing Goofy's arm and yanking it up and down as fast he could. "C'mon, Goofy!" The duck squawked, obviously more than angered by the change of events. "We're gonna show this witch what happens when you mess with us and Sora!" The words seemed to have a better effect on him, Goofy nodding tensely a moment before dashing towards their target. Him and Donald were side-by-side, not even having to second-guess themselves as they ran forward. They were going to do this together, or not at all.

"Hey." Yuffie jumped at the voice behind her. Turning, she found herself looking straight into Leon's blue eyes. The man was staring at her oddly, and Yuffie realized she had just been standing here while everybody was fighting. "You okay?" He asked. It was clear in his voice that he thought she was already injured. The thought made her straighten self-consciously. She wasn't THAT bad of a fighter! But Leon clearly didn't mean it that way.

"M'fine." She said, turning and glaring hotly at the witch, who was busy trying to parry blows from Goofy, Donald, and Riku all at the same time. "I've been waiting a long time for this." She murmured, remembering the way she had been furious with Maleficent. Even before all this madness started. She was partly responsible for Yuffie's world disappearing, as well as all her other friends'. Now that the moment was here… she couldn't really believe it. Was this the way Sora was with all the bad guys he faced? Or did he not think twice about it anymore?

"Well then, we should be first in line." Leon offered, eyes glinting as he spoke. It was obvious he was thinking the same as Yuffie. Turning, she flashed him a bright smile before pivoting on her foot, racing forward and rocketing towards the witch. She left Leon to hurry after her, knowing it wouldn't be long until he did. Axel was running beside her, surprisingly. She didn't even hear him come up. Looking over at him swiftly, Yuffie felt a twinge. What was with her!? Why couldn't she look the same at Axel like she did all the other times! Was something different?

Axel narrowed his sharp green eyes, a head pounding in time with his feet. Quickening his pace, he overtook Yuffie, skidding to a harsh stop next to Goofy, who didn't even glance over at him. Maleficent was already weakening in her spells, but she was a mighty target. That didn't mean they could let their guard down. Ignoring the way that Mickey was still frozen over to the left, trying to wiggle out of whatever was holding him in place, Axel tried to focus on the matter at hand. But he couldn't, he had a splitting headache. Something was wrong, he knew that much. But he didn't know what, exactly.

Jarred out of his thoughts, a flash of bright green flame caught Axel's eye. A wall of flame was bearing down on Riku just feet away, the teen twisting in attempt to escape the attack. He rolled his eyes, there was no way that he would be able to dodge a wall of flame with those clumsy moves. Holding out both hands, Axel willed forward his own bright orange flame, shooting it forward to clash with the bright green fire. The inferno placed itself right in front of Riku, shielding the teen from the oncoming attack. Riku straightened, turning around with wide eyes to face Axel. The Organization Member snarled under his breath, turning crossly and shooting fireballs rapidly over at Maleficent, putting all his anger into the attack. _Don't act so surprised! _He thought angrily, jaw locked back. It wasn't like he would have let him get burned! They didn't have time to treat injuries with Sora on their hands! If a injury could be avoided, then they would avoid it.

Yuffie dashed in, moving so fast that Axel couldn't keep his eyes on her before she disappeared again. The girl was a blur, weaving in and out from under Maleficent's feet, eyes blazing with anger as she threw her daggers with deathly precision at the witch. Though he didn't know her for a long time, Axel knew that this battle would be one that would be important to her. If they didn't win, Axel didn't know what she would do.

But of course they were going to win. Maleficent was gradually becoming slower, more and more confused and irritated. A combination that didn't work well together in most cases. She threw spells at random in attempt to maybe catch somebody in the process. A little blow would work to her advantage, even if it was a small one. Axel even caught her trying to perform the spell he had stopped again, as if she were losing hope of actually killing them all. Which was sensible, of course. One person against six didn't always work out.

…Sora would have known their advantage more than any other person, if he were here.

His thoughts were broken as there was a dull thump beside Axel. Turning, the man blinked, looking down at the ground in slight surprise. Donald sat on the ground, head hung and eyes closed. His shoulders sagged, and he looked like he had given up. He was magic, Axel realized. After he used all of his magic, there wasn't really anything else that the duck could work with. Without a second thought, Axel stooped down, reaching back and handing the duck a small bottle of potion. Had the duck already run out already? On him, or his friends?

"Knock yourself out." Axel threw over his shoulder, only waiting to watch Donald successfully use the magic liquid before darting away again. Once more, Axel caught sight of Riku watching him, the boy's face more than a little thoughtful by now. But Axel didn't have time to think about it. More rapidly than he could even comprehend, really, the battle stopped. Everybody froze in place, the Postern going silent. Blinking, Axel stopped too, confused as he looked around. But then he saw it.

Maleficent had managed to break away from the clump, eyes gleaming with none other than triumph. She had one hand down, gripping Mickey's shoulder, the King still unable to move. He now had a furious look on his face, knowing full well that he couldn't move away from the witch. Maleficent's other hand was down by Mickey's throat, a spell already cracking like lightening in her palm. "Nobody move." She demanded, eyes flickering around the stunned crowd. "Otherwise the mouse gets killed."

Everybody looked too confused or shocked to move. They just stayed where they were. Even Riku stayed, though he looked fit to kill right about now. Donald and Goofy looked close to desperate, and Axel realized with a jolt that the dog was looking straight at him, a question lingering in the sidekick's eyes. Immediately, he soured, putting his hands out in front of him, just as surprised by the turn of events. He thought that they had this in the bag!

"Now then." Maleficent purred, getting back to her old self. "I think we still have a deal that needs to be carried out, am I wrong?" She scanned the faces around her, and yet nobody moved. By now, everyone was either conflicted, or lost. Two friends were on the line! What were they to do!? How would they pick? When nobody volunteered to speak, the witch seemed to get cross. Eyes narrowing, she spat like a snake. "Well then? Which will you hand over to me?" Still, nobody spoke. A smile strayed on her lips, and she chuckled lightly, the light in her hand seeming to grow brighter. "You'd better decide soon." She laughed. "I might give a little slip."

Axel looked around, shocked that they found this decision difficult. _Which one do the worlds need more?_ He screamed silently. _Some King…or the Keyblade Bearer! _When he became silent, a small voice worried the back of his mind, poking and prodding in places that Axel tried to keep secret. _Don't you mean which one YOU need more?_ It whispered to him. He snarled, shoving it away before it could say anything else. His eyes glittered angrily as he resurfaced into reality. And he jumped as he realized that Maleficent was looking straight at him.

Pausing for a moment, the witch's hand strayed from Mickey's throat for a heartbeat, raising up in a small fist in front of her face. Her index finger stuck out, bending backwards in a small gesture for Axel to come closer. The man didn't move, finding that his feet were rooted to the ground. A small scowl found its way on the witch's face, and he repeated the movement once more, muttering something this time. As if somebody behind him had pushed him, the Ex-Organization Member was propelled forward, pulled closer by Maleficent's magical powers.

Sliding across the floor, it seemed, Axel only jerked to a stop when he was mere inches away from Maleficent. But before he could try and break free, a wall of bright, evergreen fire circled them tightly, proving that he had no way out. Glaring sharply at the walls that surrounded the three of them, Axel turned slowly, glowering at the witch expectantly. "Axel…Number Eight in the Organization Thirteen." She said thoughtfully, eyes flashing as she looked closely at him. Mickey's eyes flew over to him, the only thing that the mouse could move. If Axel didn't know the mouse any better, he would have thought that there was flash of fear in the King's eyes.

"I'm not apart of them anymore." Axel growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh, surely you don't believe that." The witch cooed, smiling almost gently. "Can't you feel it?" She pressed, eyes boring into Axel's cloak. "The pull towards the darkness? The longing for it? It's all a Nobody knows, Axel. It's all they are capable in feeling." Axel twitched at this, face turning a light shade of red in his anger. "At least…that's what that fool Ansem said. But we both know better." She went on. "We both know you are capable of being SO much more."

Axel blinked, caught off-guard by this. The fright was growing more apparent in Mickey's eyes.

"Kingdom Hearts, isn't that what it's called?" Maleficent prompted him, as if she didn't already know its name. "It has the power that you crave…HAVE craved for. It's the only thing that can give you what you truly deserve. A heart. A being to call your own. You're a Nobody Axel…you only live half a life. But with the power unleashed from Kingdom Hearts…you can have all you've ever wanted." The words seemed to transfix Axel.

"These people wont give you that power." Maleficent snorted, gesturing to all the others, merely flickering shadows behind the wall of flame. "They want to CONSERVE Kingdom Hearts…they want to hide it from people just like you. They aren't any friends of yours, they wont do anything to help you." She hesitated a moment, eyes flashing with cold malice as she leaned in closer to the man. "But I am a powerful friend to have." She whispered, voice dropping. "I can give you everything you've ever wanted and more. All you have to do…is help me take care of these others. And then just give me Sora. It's simple."

Axel's head was spinning, knees weak. The things she said were true, every single bit of it. The hunger for what he thought he could not have was making his chest ache, hands shake. A heart….that was what she was offering him. All he had ever strived for before. A shadow appeared from behind the wall of flame, flickering over at him. A long black cloak, hood pulled over their face tightly. The broad shoulders were something that reminded him of somebody, and with a sickening feeling, the only sane voice in his mind screamed Xemnas.

Was he watching now? Egging him on to accept Maleficent's offer?

Mickey caught the starved look in Axel's eyes, giving a shaky sigh as he shut his eyes tightly. There was no hope now. Everything had been for nothing. Xemnas had been right. Axel was no friend of their's. The thought broke his heart, and just because he couldn't say anything made it worse. He could not try and change Axel's mind. _Sora, we're so sorry. _He thought in despair. _We tried._

Hesitantly, eyes fixed on the shadow behind the witch, Axel stuck out his hand slowly, stopping halfway from Maleficent. The witch smiled widely at the gesture, eyes gleaming as she knew that she had won. Giving a small chuckle, he reached out, wrapping her cold hand around Axel's gloved one. "You've made the right choice." She said, locking eyes with him.

Slowly, he smiled widely back at her. "I know I have." He said clearly. Eyes flickering once more over to the shadow that stared steadily back at him, his smile seemed to only grow. "NOW!" He screamed, tightening his hold on Maleficent's hand. Jerking forward, Axel shoved the witch backwards, out of her out wall of fire. Mickey's eyes jerked open, amazement shining in his surprised orbs. Maleficent staggered out of her own barrier, shock and fury alight in every feature of her eyes.

But before she could recover, Riku dashed up from where he had waited, hood flying back down as wind rushed by him. His keyblade shot up, and the man struck home. He stabbed Maleficent right through the stomach, the witch's look of anger slowly melting into a pained look of shock. Mickey gasped, the spell that was inflicted on him shattering as he fell flat on his face. Axel watched as he locked eyes with the dying witch, eyes narrowed. "Nice try." He said, voice more than steady by now. "But I know who my friends are."

Slowly, the others recovered, smiles and cheers traveling through the group. They had won! And it was all thanks to Axel and Riku working together! Goofy and Donald rushed forward, Yuffie and Leon rushing in from behind. They were all grinning widely, eyes gleaming. "Good job!" The two yelled triumphantly together, addressing everybody but staring gratefully at Axel as they spoke. The man had been the one to ultimately take the last stride in making sure Sora was safe. And it was clear they both would not forget that in a hurry.

But Axel wasn't looking at them. He was staring at Riku, as if waiting for him to say something. Sora's friend was watching with a heavy look as Maleficent slowly disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only looking up after he had tucked his keyblade away. His eyes were blank as he stared at Axel, searching the man carefully for a few moments. But then he gave a small smile, giving him a small little nod. "I guess we make a pretty good team." He said finally, Yuffie and Leon suppressing laughter.

Axel smiled crookedly. "…Yeah." He said. "I guess we do."

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

"You think we would have gotten there by now." Sora growled underneath his breath. Roxas looked back at him from the corner of his eye, searching him anxiously. But it wasn't bitterness making him angry, it was the pain that had been thrown on him. It seemed the farther he went, the more of his injuries started to resurface. He had been limping for some while now, and his arm was loose and lame at his side. Every time it moved just a twitch, Sora winced. But to his credit, he kept moving and didn't complain. Too much. At least that was a side of him that didn't change.

"We're getting close." Roxas assured him. "I can feel it." A pang shook him, and Roxas wished that he could have just as much of getting out of here as Sora did. But he was a Nobody. He had learned long ago that the only real place he fit in was the darkness. There was no other place that he could be. Even Twilight Town, a town of his own illusion, wasn't the place for him. Suddenly, Sora spoke up once more, looking at him anxiously.

"Don't say that." He objected, blue eyes slightly saddened as he looked over at his Nobody. "After all, you go everywhere I do. And you belong with me. That means you belong everywhere I belong! And you should know as well as I do that that's a lot of places to belong to." He spoke casually, despite the odd look Roxas gave him. He said it like Roxas had spoken his thoughts aloud.

"…I didn't say anything." Roxas pointed out, blinking as he looked over his shoulder.

"You didn't?" Sora asked, forehead creasing. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Roxas flashed back dryly.

Sora mumbled something under his breath, but didn't go on. Roxas still felt a twinge of surprise at the odd way Sora was talking, but he pushed it aside. It didn't matter. They would be out of here soon enough, and then everything would be the same again. Roxas would never have to walk a million miles like this, and he would never have to put up with Sora again. Though the last part just wasn't as appealing, it seemed. He did his best to shake off that thought as well.

Sora blinked, perking as he looked over his shoulder. Small voices were murmuring behind him, slowly getting louder. Coming to a stop, Sora strained to listen to them, realizing with a shock that he recognized the people talking. It was like an oncoming train, how the voices were swelling. "Do you hear that?" Sora asked, looking back over at Roxas. But the blonde kept on walking, having not heard him. Irritation pricking at him, Sora pressed once more. "Roxas!" The nobody started, turning around with a tilted head.

The yell made his arm move, and Sora flinched back, reaching over with his other arm and holding his bad arm as gently as he could. Still grimacing, he pressed once more. "Do you hear that?" He asked, one eye closed in pain. Roxas looked a little lost for a moment, blue eyes troubled as he stared at Sora. But then suddenly the darkness around them began to light up, changing and shifting as colors started to bleed around them. Roxas jumped, startled. Breaking into a run, Roxas rushed back over to Sora, skidding to a clumsy stop beside him.

"Close your eyes!" He growled sharply, glaring over at him.

"Wait!" Sora threw back, blinking rapidly. He knew this place. He knew these people around him. "I-It's Merlin's house!" Sora shouted, a small ghost of a smile lingering over his face. He knew everybody! The sight of them made his heart want to scream in joy. It was Yuffie, Aerith, Merlin, Leon, Cid…everybody was there! And then some. Sora's eyes widened as he caught sight of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy and Kairi standing beside the rest of the others. The sight of the red-head made his shoulders sag in relief. She was okay. But none of them seemed to notice him.

Looking over his shoulder, Sora threw a confused looked over at Roxas. "Are we seeing what's going on now?" He asked, looking a little overwhelmed. "Can you do that? Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He remembered the first time he had seen Sora, in a darkness that was different from this one. When he had heard Axel's voice, warning him not to come. When Xemnas had egged him on. Was this the same thing? "…Sometimes…." He managed, doubting himself now. Was he wrong to tell Sora to look away? Was this real, or was it something the darkness made up? He couldn't answer that. Falling into a guilty silence, Roxas stood beside Sora, worried eyes flickering over to the keybearer every once and a while. He wanted to keep talking, but the others around the room had started to speak, Sora's blue eyes staring at the red-haired girl. He was too intent on her. He wouldn't notice if Roxas had a spontaneous combustion right then and there.

"Maleficent will come back. It's only a matter of time. What will we do when she does?" The red-head asked, blue eyes troubled. Her hands wrung nervously together, and Roxas saw Sora's face fall somewhat at the words. Obviously he cared about this person. And he would have rather had her words be something other than talking about the enemy. Hurt shone in his eyes, and Roxas looked more closely at the girl. She reminded him of somebody…somebody with black hair. Blue, soft eyes.

Now they were both looking at her.

Yuffie spoke up where she stood beside Leon, gray eyes serious. "We can't risk having the town overrun by heartless." The girl said after a moment's pause. "We'd be no match for anything that she dished out. It would be near impossible without Sora helping us." The others mumbled agreement at her words. Suddenly, Yuffie ducked her head, closing her eyes. "Maybe we should just give her what she wants." She said finally, regretfully.

"You mean give her Sora?" Mickey demanded. "Without a fight?"

Sora jerked back, as if slapped across the face…again. Roxas blinked, starting. What was this all about, anyway? He was torn in wondering whether or not this was real, though the more intelligent part of his mind screamed at him to realize the falsehood of what was happening here. It couldn't be right at all. Something was wrong here, he knew it. "Listen, let's just go." Roxas murmured, grabbing Sora's uninjured arm and tugging him to the side, heading over for the door that was across the room, but instead of just walking through the image like he had expected, the two crashed right into the wall. As if it were solid.

They both smacked back down to the ground with a thud, Sora cursing through gritted teeth as he screwed his eyes shut tightly. "Well what was that for!" He cried, thick pain wringing through every syllable of his voice. "That was totally uncalled for!" The words ended in a pained squeak, Sora trying to recover and push himself back up. Roxas was unaware of the boy's anger, blue eyes wide and round as he scrambled to his feet. Throwing his hands out in front of him, the Nobody pressed his palms flat against the wall. It was solid. He tried the door, more frantically. The door didn't open. Not one budge.

"What's going on!" Roxas yelled in frustration, feeling his patience wear thin.

"Shut up!" Sora growled angrily, shuffling over to lean against the wall with a pained grimace. "They're talking again." Roxas looked over his shoulder, blinking as he realized that Sora was right. A small argument had broken out while Roxas had been busy…shoving people down to the ground. Shaking it off, Roxas reluctantly let his hands fall back to his sides, listening with a small, worried frown, still unsure whether they should be trying to listen. They should be trying to get away.

"…best for everybody." Yuffie was saying, gray eyes hurt as she looked around at the people looking at her. "I mean- Sora isn't the only person that holds a keyblade." Her eyes flashed over to Mickey and somebody that stood beside him. They both seemed to realize what she was saying, the King's head ducking low. But the other person wore an Organization Cloak, the hood drawn up to shield his face. Who was he? Was it Axel? The thought of the man staying with the Hollow Bastian Restoration Committee caught Sora a little off-guard. Roxas looked troubled, Sora could only guess that he was thinking the same thing.

"We can't just put one person in front of all the other worlds. Even if he is our friend." Yuffie went on, more firmly this time. "Maleficent will keep her promise of overrunning the place with the heartless. It's just not worth it to try and call her on a bluff. We just have to do it. We just have to give Sora over to her." She tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear as she spoke, eyes narrowing determinedly.

Sora's eyes widened at this, surprise and shock settling inside of him, accompanied with disbelief. Trying to ignore the white-hot flash of pain, he scrambled to his feet, blue eyes hurt and confused. Roxas turned, muttering something to him, but it was lost. Sora's eyes were fixed firmly on Kairi's, staring desperately at the girl, waiting for her to say something in his defense. But she remained silent, face blank and apathetic. She even looked a little…uncaring. She didn't show any sign of regret or sadness.

None of them did.

They were all nodding with Yuffie's place, muttering breaking out around them. "…So that's it then…" Sora mumbled, barley even conscious of himself talking. His face changed from sadness to become blank, expressionless. Roxas started, looking over at the keybearer a little nervously. Gritting his teeth together tightly, Sora turned away from the scene, unable to look anymore as he changed his gaze to lock down on the floor beneath his feet. "That's it then." He repeated bitterly. "We're done for. We're never getting out."

"Don't think like that!" Roxas protested, though his voice was subdued. "We still have time-"

"To do what?" Sora grumbled, closing his eyes. "To wander around making no progress?"

"We've made progress…" Roxas mumbled, a little sharper.

Sora shook his head, looking down dejectedly at his bad leg, at his bad arm. He had been through so much…he had even tried to get back to his friends after everything that happened. And yet now…it was all for nothing. He was being let go anyway. It didn't matter what he did anymore. "No." He said fixedly. "I'm done. You go, if you want. I'm finished. …It's not worth it anymore." His voice broke slightly on the last word, and yet he didn't try to go back and correct himself.

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but Sora threw him an irritated look, clearly planning to ignore whatever he was about to say. Blue eyes glinting, the blonde looked down at himself, cold realization setting in. Sora was finished, he wasn't going to keep on going. And that meant…he was forced to do the same. His lower half was already gone, the already-pale outline of himself disappearing in an instant. The freezing-cold sensation crawled up the rest of his body, and Roxas's eyes widened as a jolt of terror crashed into him. "Sora, stop!" Roxas yelled, finding with a jerk that his voice wasn't working. His mouth moved furiously, and while he struggled to speak, the house around them slowly faded, just like Roxas was doing. They were back in the darkness, but Roxas knew it wouldn't be for long.

"Sora! You can still keep going!" Roxas yelled mutely. But Sora couldn't hear him, didn't even see him. His blue eyes were fixed on the ground, oblivious to the now-faded Nobody. Darkness slammed over Roxas's eyes, and everything went numb. His mind slipped away from him, and he couldn't feel anything anymore. He was truly apart of the shadows now.

Silence had rung throughout the darkness for a while, Sora finally realizing the fact that Roxas hadn't said anything in a long time. Raising his head a little, Sora's eyes flickered over to where the Nobody had once stood, jumping with surprise as he found it empty. "…Roxas?" The brunette asked, blinking as he straightened somewhat. No response. The Nobody was nowhere to be found. Blinking slowly, Sora looked around expectantly, trying to figure out where he went. But to no avail.

Was he always going to be alone now?

Slowly, half because he was too weak to go on standing, and half because he just didn't know what else to do, Sora sat down on the ground with a small thud. Blue eyes flashing, the keyblade bearer ducked his head, staring down at his bad leg. Would he have made it out of here if he wasn't so wounded? Stubbornly, he told himself he could. But in reality, it seemed near impossible. He had climbed this stupid hill for what seemed like ages. The farther along he went, the more apparent it seemed that he was getting nowhere in his climb.

It was pointless from the start.

A cold feeling settled in his chest, looking down fixedly, Sora watched with a numb expression as the shadows that were thick around him started to almost surge forward. In little waves, like on the ocean back at home. The frown on Sora's face only grew deeper at the thought, heart suddenly aching and wishing for home. The shadows were crawling closer, but Sora didn't feel the need to try and get up to escape their reach. The black pools of darkness met with his skin, climbing up with care as they started to wrap around Sora. Still, he did not move.

He didn't see the need to.

In fact, as the shadows covered Sora, growing faster by the moment, the only clear thought in the boy's head was how cold it felt. Freezing, like ice. No…it was something else. Not ice. Not entirely. The shadows were creeping up his stomach, and Sora felt himself starting to slip, felt the ground underneath his head, when he didn't even remember laying down. It was something…the thought was going to drive him crazy if he didn't remember what the feeling reminded him of. But then it hit him.

The shadows were pressing on his neck, cutting off his air and making his lungs scream, in protest. But despite the feeling, a small smile wormed its way onto the beaten keybearer's face. As the feeling spread up to his cheeks, Sora laughed slightly, wasting some of the precious little air he had left. A numbing feeling was spreading through him, making his thoughts slurred and unclear. He felt himself slipping away and yet the same thought repeated itself over and over in his head.

The ocean.

The feeling reminded him of the ocean.

•0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙ •0·˙

"We did it!" The triumphant shouts and cheers accounted their arrival before the door even opened. But when it did, everybody streamed into the house, filling the room to the brim with the happiness and relief that radiated off of the group. Maleficent was dead, and there was nothing else that could bother them. Everything was going to be perfect now, smooth-sailing. And yet the cheers died away uncertainly. Nobody had greeted them. In fact, nobody was even looking at them.

Kairi was standing a few inches away from them, back to her friends. Her shoulders were shaking oddly, the girl not even turning to look at the arrival of the fighters. Riku pushed his way through the crowd from where he stood beside Axel, eyes troubled as he stared at her. "Kairi?" He asked softly, head tilting to the side. "What's going on?"

Hesitantly, Kairi turned to the side, stepping back and showing everybody what she had been standing in front of. Merlin and Aerith were both standing by Sora's bedside, both looking lost and confused. Merlin forced himself to meet Mickey's eyes for a moment before slowly giving a shake of his head. The King gasped sharply, eyes confused as he turned to look wildly at Sora. The boy was still, limp and unmoving. Mickey looked hard at the boy's chest, waiting for the familiar rise and fall that usually showed that he was fine.

But it was still.

"He's gone." Merlin managed, blue eyes choked with sadness.

"B-But we defeated Maleficent!" Donald called out, eyes blazing with anger.

"It didn't matter." Kairi whispered, head hung.

Yuffie bit her lip, weaving through the crowd and coming to a stop in front of the red-haired girl. "I forgot to give you this." She whispered, still looking over at Sora with glistening eyes. Digging in her pocket a moment, she withdrew a small little charm from behind her, withdrawing a small star-shaped trinket that she held out to the girl. "I found it on the ground. Sora must have dropped it while the Organization were taking him back with them."

Axel flinched at the memory.

Kairi took the trinket, looking down dumbly at the charm. It was HER charm. The one she had given to Sora. She closed her eyes, gripping the small thing tightly in her hands. She remembered back to the time when they had both been younger. Kairi had looked over at Sora teasingly, despite the danger that they were both in at the moment. Her voice was light as she spoke, hands on her hips. "This is my lucky charm!" She snapped. "Be _sure _to give it back to me!"

Sora's blue eyes gleamed with laughter as he stared back at her, a smile lighting up his face. "I will." He promised, leaning over and tying the chain onto the handle of his keyblade. A place of honor, Kairi remembered thinking. The thought had come as a laughing one, but now it was just hollow. A voice seemed to echo in her head, the familiar voice of her friend, just as light and teasing as back then. "See? I gave it back." The voice said cheerily.

Kairi didn't realize she had been crying until she felt hands on her shoulders, turning and steering her out the door. Aerith was the one pushing her along gently, and Yuffie walked beside her. The two looked sad, but it was obvious they were trying to hide it from her as she stumbled along. "Don't worry." Yuffie said softly back to Merlin. "We'll go for a walk." Merlin was watching them carefully. Had he given orders when Kairi wasn't listening?

Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Leon all watched as she staggered out of the door, almost not able to see anything through the blinding tears. They could just be taking her out to walk in circles, and she wouldn't be able to see. Before Aerith and Yuffie could try and say something encouraging, she whirled around to face them, lower lip trembling. She stood still for a moment, as if unsure of what she had been planning to do. Then she spoke in a small, trembling whisper, eyes fixed on Yuffie. "Why did you get me?" She asked softly, in a low sob. "You should have gotten him! He would be fine now if you did that!"

Yuffie swallowed. "He would have never forgiven himself if he knew we left you." She said gently.

"Am I supposed to forgive myself?" Kairi demanded, reaching up and wiping her eyes roughly.

"He's happy, I bet." Yuffie offered weakly, giving her a half-hearted grin.

Kairi looked at the ground for a moment, groping for something to say. Closing her eyes, Kairi let out a small breath. "I didn't even get to say goodbye." She whispered shakily, not even bothering to wipe her eyes this time. For a moment, nobody moved, Yuffie and Aerith looking at one another with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. Then Aerith seemed to steel herself, walking forward and wrapping her arms tightly around Kairi's shaking frame.

"None of us did." She said softly.

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A/N: So this isn't the end of the story. I would realize why you would think that…but nah. This aint over yet. Get this: This chapter is twelve pages long on Microsoft Word in size TEN font. I have no idea why I couldn't stop typing. And I still wanted to put more down! But I controlled myself. It's all good. I've already got next chapter laid out for me. So that's pretty good. :3

So I went to the High School today to go and get my locker all done and stuff, you know? I couldn't figure out where my classes were! And I don't remember where anything is. Tomorrow at Transition day, I'm gonna be frustrated. I was getting so frustrated just today! And I was there for maybe an hour. So this whole last part of the chapter is influenced by my fright for High School, the dread of knowing my foreseen tardies/detentions, and maybe even the loneliness of having no friends in my classes. Or lunch. So, yeah. I'm worried.

Hopefully I'll have more reviews than I got for last chapter. I'm sure hearing from you guys would cheer me up. And I'm not saying that to get more reviews, I'm saying that because I'm down in the dumps right now XD


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! We're so close to 450! And then we'll be well on our way to 500! The reviews DID cheer me up, and I was really proud of myself because I went the whole day with only being late to one class. But I was only like five seconds late, so whatever.

I got Yuffie's little 'Saying' from a poster in one of my classes. So I don't own that…

Dear Ventus56: I'm pretty sure Sora would have to be my favorite character. ^^ Never heard of your favorite though. No PSP : (

**So take the photographs and still-frames in your mind. Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time. Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial. For what its worth, it was worth all the while. It's something unpredictable…but in the end is right…I hope you have the time of your life!**

I was listening to that song typing, got a little emotional XD

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The heat of battle rushed through Riku as he battled against the large beast, eyes narrowed thoughtfully with every move he took. His opponent wasn't any kind of match for him, it was like battling an infant. The power of the darkness tingled at Riku's fingertips as he gripped the handle of his keyblade tightly. He could defeat any enemy, launch any attack, race through any obstacle. With the darkness, he could do anything he pleased. Be anything he wanted to be. And it was all just too easy.

The Beast raised his clawed hand, ready to bring it down onto the boy's head in a crushing blow. But Riku tensed, pushing off of the ground and flipping in the air neatly. The Beast's blow just struck empty air, the animal letting out a confused snort as his eyes widened, looking confused. Enough to make Riku laugh aloud. But he recovered his footing instead, landing on the wet rock with ease and grace. Not wasting a moment of precious time, Riku lunged out with his keyblade, dashing forward and delivering the blow that would without a doubt end the fight. As soon as he did so, the white-haired boy leapt backwards, watching coldly as the monster fell to the ground, a pained huff coming from him as he did so.

Eyes cold and unforgiving, Riku raised his keyblade, readying himself for another strike. The tip of the blade glinted in the light of morning, and it was all too easy to picture it digging into the skin of the attacker. But suddenly, a voice rang out through the silence, cutting his action short. "Stop!" Sora yelled, rushing forward and skidding to a stop in front of the monster, as if protecting it. His blue eyes were narrowed, and he looked filled to the brim with anger, much different than he had looked since the last time Riku had seen him.

The two sidekicks of Riku's old friend were there too, following Sora's movement and standing in front of the wounded animal. The scene almost made Riku want to laugh aloud. Sora…a _leader_. The concept was just too ridiculous, as it was every time he saw the keyblade bearer. At least he was catching on at least. Knowing the pull of the darkness better than before. Knowing how much stronger Riku was than him. And it was the way it should have been. Sora never beat him in anything back at the islands. He would always be the one to fail, in the end.

"So." Riku said, fighting a smile. "You finally made it. About time too. I've been waiting for you." Sora did not waver in his glare, refusing to respond. Riku paid no heed, sweeping on without a reply. "We've always been rivals, haven't we?" He asked suddenly, voice changing somewhat. "You've always pushed me…as I've always pushed you."

As he spoke, Sora straightened somewhat, eyes growing slightly confused. He gave one pace forward, eyes round and almost hurt as he looked at his old friend. "Riku…" He tried, voice somewhat small as he tried to reason with him once more. But it was no use. Riku wouldn't listen to such a stupid person. He knew much more than Sora, he knew everything there was to know! The darkness was at his will, and he had more power and knowledge that Sora could try to even picture.

"But it all ends here." Riku hissed, voice hardening once more. Sora blinked, face falling even more as he realized that it wasn't regret in his friend's voice as he spoke. The brunette snapped his mouth shut, blue eyes a mask now as he gazed firmly over at him, waiting for him to finish. "There can't be two keyblade masters." Riku snapped sharply.

But this only seemed to confuse Sora even more. Leaning forward slightly, Sora's face creased with puzzlement, looking at Riku the way he used to when he asked for help on his math questions. "What are you talking about?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. Goofy and Donald glanced at one another from behind Sora, looking just as lost. Riku snorted underneath his breath. None of them had any sense. They were a trio of stupid idiots, blundering around and relying on luck to bring them this far.

"Let the Keyblade chose!" Riku snapped a reply. "Let it chose its true master!"

He flung his hand out, palm facing to where Sora was standing. Sora jumped, wide eyes shooting down to his keyblade, which shot into his hand without his doing. The weapon jerked forward, as if straining to get over to where Riku was. Grunting with the effort, Sora closed one eye, trying to tug it back to where it should be. But before long, the weapon disappeared altogether, reappearing once more…but in Riku's hand. A jolt of triumph flooded over him. He was the true keyblade master. A smile went over his face, leering over almost teasingly to Sora. "Maleficent was right." He snarled. "You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's up to me."

"B-But…that impossible! How did this happen?" Sora looked a little lost for words for a moment, blue eyes looking down searchingly at the ground, as if the thin lining of water beneath his feet held an answer for him. Snapping his head back up, Sora glared hotly at Riku. "I'm the one who fought here with the keyblade!" He objected loudly. From behind him, Goofy and Donald were looking at each other with twin looks of shock on their faces. They were just as clueless on what to do as Sora was.

Riku held out the large, magnificent blade in front of him, dramatically eyeing it. "You were just the delivery boy." He sneered, throwing Sora a withering look as he spoke. Sora closed his mouth shut tightly, eyes brimming with confusion as he looked from his old keyblade to his old friend. The puzzlement in his eyes was enough to say a thousand words, and yet Riku didn't want to hear any of them. "Sorry." He said bluntly. "Your part's over now."

Suddenly, he grinned, as if amused. "Here. Go play hero with this."

Throwing his free arm forward, Riku threw a small wooden sword down so that it landed perfectly in front of Sora. The boy looked down at the weapon emptily. Memories of them fighting together and playing together with that same sword seemed to sting painfully in his eyes. Dropping down to the ground, Sora dropped onto his hands and knees, staring at the small wooden weapon with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe what happened. Riku narrowed his eyes at him, making a disappointed noise under his breath. If that was all Sora could manage…he was ashamed to even know him.

And as Riku watched with a cold sense of humor, Sora's friends even left him. The two new people he had chosen over him and Kairi left him. The disappointment, hurt, and overall sadness showed in every feature of the boy. His drooping shoulders, his tightly-closed eyes. And as Riku turned to leave him as well, the white-haired boy heard a small sniffle.

The scene always replayed in Riku's mind. It was endless, and cruel. It never stopped, and neither did the large pang of guilt that swamped him after it passed. And now, standing here in the middle of Merlin's house, staring down at the still body of what used to be his best friend, Riku could do nothing but let the strong feeling of grief and remorse fill him to the brim. His mind scrambled frantically, questions whizzing past as he looked down numbly at Sora. Did he ever apologize for what he did? Did Sora even forgive him if he had? And if he didn't, did Sora forgive him anyway? Of course he would, otherwise….otherwise what? He groped for a word, but could not seem to find it.

He ducked his head, closing his eyes and digging his fingernails into the palm of his hand. He had acted like a jerk to Sora, and yet the boy didn't ever give up on him. Not even when he was without a weapon. He managed to scrape by with a wooden weapon, scouring the castle for the friend he knew wasn't gone. He didn't deserve it. Sora should have let him to be eaten up by the darkness. After all, no matter what Riku had done…no matter what any of them had done…Sora was gone. And he wouldn't come back. Merlin looked up from the body, eyes wide and round as he looked expectantly at Mickey, waiting for orders. The mouse looked just as stricken, giving no help whatsoever as he stared down at Sora. To Riku's surprise, Axel looked the same, green eyes glinting with something even close to anger as he looked down. Donald and Goofy rushed forward, being the first to do so. Donald's blue eyes were blazing as he came to a stop beside Sora, bringing his hands up and hitting Sora's chest gently. "Sora!" The duck wailed, Riku wincing where he stood. "Sora, wake up! You can do it!"

Goofy didn't say anything. But he didn't have to. All the disappointment, failure, sadness, and strong grief shone plainly in his eyes. There was nothing he could say. Nothing anybody could say. What would Riku have said? That he was sorry he didn't come to give help in time? That he was sorry for making Sora hold out longer than he had to? This was all his fault. Everything was. If he hadn't waited so long to get help…if he had the sense to do anything sooner.

He had held Sora's hand all the time back in the island. He had helped Sora beat Tidus for the first time, he had been right beside Sora when they discovered the Secret Place. He had been by Sora when Kairi first came into the island, and he had taken up the duty of looking after both of them. Riku had been there the whole way, growing up right alongside Sora, smoothing out the branches in the boy's life so that it would be less painful for his trek. And yet…it seemed as though Riku had rushed too far ahead of Sora. He had left the boy stranded in thick woods, branches barring every way out with no help.

His throat burned and seemed to swell somewhat, his eyes fixed on Sora's body, unblinking. Slowly, he started to shake his head back and forth, unable to believe it. "No." He murmured softly, eyes narrowing. "I know you better than this." He growled. Nobody paid any attention, not able to hear as he mumbled to himself. Mickey had pulled Goofy aside, saying something about going to the other worlds to spread the news. "I know you wouldn't let something like this defeat you. You can so much more." His voice cracked somewhat, and he ducked his head. "You can do so much more than most people think. Than….what _I_ thought."

Opening his eyes slightly, Riku added it in case he never did before. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

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Yuffie searched for something to say, trying to blunder through the fog of grief that shrouded her mind. Her thoughts were slow and muffled, she was forcing herself to put one step in front of another. But Kairi seemed much worse than her. Aerith was all but dragging her forward, helping her maintain balance as she did so. Kairi staggered forward, blue eyes glazed slightly, and unclear. Their walk hadn't taken them far. They certainly couldn't have gone into town. So they stopped before they could get into the square, they were heading back to Merlin's right now. When they got there, Yuffie had no idea what they would do. But suddenly, she fished out something that her mother used to tell her. It always made her laugh. Hopefully this would have the same effect.

"Hey." She said, making her voice sound bright and perky as she turned to smile kindly at Kairi. The red-head perked, seeming to snap out of it a little bit as she turned, blue eyes trained on her, expectant. Reaching up to scratch the back of her head, Yuffie grinned widely. "You know the old saying…" She said. "Some days you're the statue, and some days you're the pigeon!"

Kairi blinked slowly at her, frown unchanging on her face.

Blinking rapidly, Yuffie instantly regretted opening her mouth. She wasn't thinking right, of course Kairi wouldn't laugh! But she couldn't just back off now! "…You know." She pressed awkwardly. "Because usually statues are covered in bird poop. So…sometimes you're covered in the bird poop, and sometimes you're the one causing the…poop…" Yuffie blinked once more. Was that right?

"So you're saying this is my fault?" Kairi asked, blue eyes getting round.

"No! No no no no no no no!" Yuffie said in a rush, throwing her arms out in front of her. "I didn't mean that at all! At least, that's not what the saying means! Not really! I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean that!" The longer she thought about it, the more it became apparent that they way she said it, there was no other meaning. Fuming and furious at herself for messing up this bad, Yuffie looked away, eyes narrowed angrily as she looked down.

But Kairi's eyes did seem a little more clear. Rousing Yuffie from her thoughts, Kairi looked over at her, eyes narrowed slightly in determination. "I want to go back inside." She accounted as they drew closer to the house once more. Yuffie blinked, exchanging a confused glance with Aerith. Would Merlin want them to take her back inside so quickly? Had they gotten Sora out of the house already? At a loss for words, Yuffie looked blankly at Kairi, unsure what to say. Kairi spoke first, voice firm. "I didn't get to say goodbye." She said softly, avoiding Yuffie's eyes for a moment..

Yuffie blinked, hesitating for a brief moment. Then she nodded. There was no harm in doing this. It looked like Kairi was a little bit better. At least better than she had been before. And her sadness was getting too much to bear. But Yuffie didn't even want to go in there. She didn't want to see Sora this way. It seemed wrong, and not what the boy was always like. But the thought of Kairi not being able to say goodbye to Sora made a small nerve twinge in her heart. And it was enough to make her cave in. "Alright." She said, giving a small nod. Aerith looked faintly surprised, but Yuffie pushed it away. She knew what she was doing. Flashing Aerith a small little grin, Yuffie turned back to the house, steeling herself as quick as she could before reaching over and grasping Kairi's hand tightly, reassuring her just as much as she was herself.

Pushing forward, the three girls walked back into the house a little reluctantly, the door giving a small squeak as they did so. Wincing slightly, Yuffie walked in first, the others hanging back and looking at her expectantly. It looked like she was the one to go first by default. All eyes went over to the trio as they came back inside, and suddenly Yuffie couldn't even think of trying to smile anymore. Yes slightly downcast, she opened her mouth to explain, but Kairi weaved over to stand beside her. "I wanted to say goodbye to Sora." She said firmly, obviously not asking anymore. Her eyes were dull as she stared over to where her friend was. "We all did." She added.

Merlin blinked, slightly surprised by the girl's quick recovery. From the way she acted before, it seemed like it would be days before she could return to normal like this. But her jaw was set back angrily, eyes narrowed as she looked forward. She had something in her head, but she wasn't sharing it with the others who were staring at her. That much was certain to the old, keen wizard. Before he could remember to ask Mickey if it was alright, he stepped away from Sora, giving Kairi a small nod as he did so.

The red-head blinked, drawing herself up and pacing forward slowly to stand over her friend's body. Her eyes glistened as she looked down at the keyblade bearer, and once again, everybody was reminded of the way that Sora seemed to only be able to talk about this red-head most of the time. The way his eyes shone as he spoke about her, the way he seemed to brighten up whenever she was mentioned. He always thought about her, and now it showed quite plainly that he was all she thought about as well. Yuffie glanced over guiltily at Leon as the thought crossed her mind. He caught her eye, and the same emotion shone his eyes. He was thinking the same thing. Kairi and Sora would have been a wonderful pair. An unstoppable pair. She was lucky she still had Leon.

Feeling a little self-conscious, she sidled over to stand next to him, leaning over and closing her eyes tightly. Leon wrapped his arms around her, in a gesture of comfort. But it didn't help at all. There was a hole in her heart now, and it would be obvious and stick with her from now until she died as well. An annoying, spiky-haired, teasing, hole that not even Leon could fill.

After a moment of silence, Kairi got down on her knees, reaching back into her pocket and bringing out the small trinket that Yuffie had given her what seemed like ages ago. Had it really been just a half hour ago? Reaching over, she placed it gently into one of Sora's pockets, leaning over and resting her head down on the mattress, sad eyes staring pleadingly over at her still friend. He didn't respond to her touch, and she looked almost like she was expecting him to.

Finally, Riku spoke up. "Kairi, maybe you shouldn't be here." He murmured, going over and placing a surprisingly-gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. Her head snapped up, eyes blazing with anger and fury at the words. But Riku was calm as he looked steadily down at her. Yuffie was slightly surprised. She thought that Riku was as prickly as an angry hedgehog, but with Kairi, he was gentle and understanding. A guilty, cruel thought wriggled its way into Yuffie's mind, making her stiffen. Now that Sora was gone…would Riku and Kairi…? She shoved it away as hard as she could, wincing as she did so. She wouldn't think about it. She couldn't think like that. It was ridiculous.

Kairi slapped Riku's hand away irritably, glaring hotly up at her friend. "I brought him back once!" She protested, voice high and teary. "I can bring him back again!" Riku's eyes flashed as he looked back at Kairi, but did not say anything else, merely drawing back and watching. Mickey looked like he would have wanted to try and comfort the girl as well, but he just remained standing there. Whipping back around to Sora, Kairi leaned over, slowly, and gently. Like Sora was a bunny that she was trying to get close to. Slowly, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him loosely, ducking her head and closing her eyes. "Come back." She whispered, almost so quiet that Yuffie didn't hear her. "Please, Sora, I know you can. Come back to me."

Yuffie eyed the rest of the crowd, and knew that they wanted to be with Sora right now just as much as Kairi did. They were all leaning forward, as if just restraining themselves from rushing forward. Sora had many friends, Kairi reflected. Goofy and Donald were in the process of reluctantly walking out the door. Mickey had told them to go from world to world, announcing the death of the beloved Keyblade bearer. There were many other friends of Sora's. And they wouldn't even be able to pay their last respects to their bubbly friend. The thought made Yuffie shudder. She was grateful that she was here, able to be with her friends in their time of need. She didn't know what she would have done if she was all the way in another world.

But Kairi was still murmuring quietly over to Sora, who didn't even respond to her voice. "Sora, come on." She pleaded softly, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter. "Just follow the sound of my voice. If you come back, you can keep my charm, you wont even have to return it." It was like she was a mother, trying to bribe their child to eat dinner by promising a cookie later. Unable to resist it any longer, Yuffie broke away from Leon, marching over to Aerith. On her way over, she watched as Goofy and Donald threw one last look back at their friend before shutting the door softly behind them. Mickey wouldn't do anything until they got back, that was for sure. Yuffie was just glad she didn't have to see everybody's reactions to the news. She was glad she wasn't included to go.

"Hey, Aerith." Yuffie whispered, grabbing the girl's wrist and speaking in a low whisper. She wasn't sure how many others knew about what Aerith had, she didn't want to draw attention to them. "Can't you use that one thing you bought a while ago?" She demanded, eyes flickering over to Kairi as she spoke in a whisper. Aerith looked faintly surprised, as if she hadn't known that Yuffie had seen the small little bottle as she bought it. They were together when she bought it, it wasn't like Yuffie had been deaf. "It calms people down, right?" She pressed, when her friend didn't answer. "I think Kairi's in need of some calming down." Her eyes were sad as she looked back over to the pair.

But slowly, her frown wavered into a confused expression.

"I don't know, Yuffie." Aerith murmured, looking a little frazzled. She must have been just as shaken by the death, Yuffie suddenly felt a twinge of guilt at putting her on the spot like this. "I was saving it for somebody that was in desperate need of it…maybe Kairi would be able to cope…" Aerith trailed off slowly, blinking as she realized that Yuffie wasn't listening to her at all. The girl's attention was fixed on Sora, head tilted to the side slightly, eyes narrowed. "Yuffie?" She prompted. "…Are you listening to me?" She jerked, blinking rapidly at her voice, as if being roused from a dream. She turned, eyes still showing puzzlement.

"Sorry." She muttered, eyes flickering over to Kairi for half a second more. "I thought I saw…" She shook her head, recovering and looking at Aerith in a much more focused manner. "Alright then." She huffed, shoulders sagging. "I was just worrying about her. She's taking it pretty hard."

"We all are." Aerith murmured, green eyes saddened. She watched Yuffie turn and go back over to Leon. Normally, she would have been straight-backed, and head high. But her head was turned over to Sora, looking a little fazed as she did so. Her eyes were narrowed, and she looked a little thoughtful as she stared intently at the boy. Aerith blinked, nerved by the odd happenings of her friend. What was wrong with her? She wasn't acting like this a moment ago. Was something wrong with her now?

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"…back…" A soft voice murmured in the haze that wrapped around his mind. A numbing feeling that chilled him to the bone and yet made his skin burn with heat at the same time. He was wrapped in the feeling, almost unable to feeling anything other than the nothingness that…he was now. He had been limp…unmoving. He couldn't move. He didn't have the will to. He didn't want to. It was as plain as that. He wanted to stay here, where he didn't have to move. Didn't have to do anything except wallow in self-pity, and self-blame.

But the voice kept buzzing in his mind, making him scowl and shake his head irritably. He didn't want to listen to anybody. But still, the voice persisted, like an annoying bug that got under your skin. It was a little clearer now, reaching his ears fuzzily. "…Sora…know you can.." His blue eyes snapped open. Sora? Was that…that was HIS name…wasn't it? What had he been doing? Blue eyes confused and puzzled, he managed to raise his head in direction of the voice, feeling like he was made of lead. Was it his name? Was somebody calling for him?

The darkness whispered over to him, voice cross and angered. "Why should you care?" It demanded, its words making pain lance down Sora's spine as he winced. "You're just a shadow now, you aren't able to comprehend feeling! She left you, as did everyone else! You don't even know your own name. Why should you go back? It'd be worthless." His limbs started to shake and tremble in the effort of holding himself up, feeling like he weighed a million pounds suddenly. Even if he wanted, he wouldn't be able to follow the mysterious voice.

Flopping back down to the ground, Sora struggled to breath through the iron-hold that had fixed itself on his throat. His breath came in small little rasps, but he found that no matter how long he didn't breathe, nothing really happened. Except for the fact that he got a little colder with each moment. But that was fine with him. He welcomed the cold like an old friend, contented eyes imagining a…a what? A beach? That was what came to mind. But…how did he know about a beach? What made any difference to him?

The voice came again, stronger still. "Come back, Sora. Follow the sound of my voice!" It rose slightly in desperation, and Sora's eyes slowly opened once more. He felt like he should react to the voice. He should know it from somewhere. But nothing came up but a blank. "We need you, Sora, come back!" Who needed him? The more the voice went on, the more he became confused. It didn't make any sense. His blue eyes flickered down to his body, which was nearly invisible against the blackness behind him. He was just a shadow…why would anybody need him?

"Please…" The voice sounded more sad, making Sora push shakily up once more. Every muscle shrieked in protest, Sora felt like he was ripping himself apart in just that simple movement. But the voice…he knew he recognized it. Right? His fogged mind was struggling to keep up with what was going on. Limping along slowly with whatever was going on. He knew that voice, he was getting more sure of it. The voice was somebody that meant something to him. Forcing himself up with a deep grimace of agony, Sora staggered up to his feet, nearly falling over in the process. Scrambling, he forced himself to recover quickly, blue eyes shadowed, dark with pain. He slowly turned over to the voice, blinking slowly as he waited for it to sound once more. At first, he thought it had stopped, and he wouldn't deny the flash of relief he felt. He would have much rather fallen back down to the ground in a heap once more.

But it echoed over to him again, the direction to where it was coming from taking a moment to process in his dead brain. "Please, don't leave me." It whispered. Looking down at his feet and still wondering what drove him forward, Sora started to edge forward, hissing and crying out with every baby-step he took. It was like dragging a million pounds of weight behind him, tearing him backwards. Like he was joined to the darkness behind him, and he was ripping himself away from it. Nevertheless, he made the effort, as much as he could muster, at least. One foot shuffling in front of the other one, Sora struggled forward, pain threatening to burst through his chest and make him bleed all over the ground.

"…Sora…" The voice was getting quieter, softer, and harder to recognize as to where it was coming from. The boy panicked, quickening his pace in the desperate attempt to catch up to whatever was calling for him. But that only made the pain increase about a million times more. Catching himself, Sora fell forward, slamming into the ground with a agonized thud. Wrapped in pain for a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, quivering where he was on the ground, trying to wait out the wave of pain slamming against him.

When it subsided enough for him to catch him breath, Sora forced himself to raise his head once more, teeth grinding together. "W-Wait…" He managed to get out, ducking his head as his voice scraped against his throat. "Wait!" He repeated, forcing his voice to get louder. The shadows were pressing in on him, drawing into their depths once more. But for once, Sora actually wondered whether or not he wanted to be a shadow. Was he more than that in the first place? Had he BEEN somebody? Was there even anything out there besides this calming world of darkness? Looking over his shoulder into the pit of blackness, Sora's vision shook back and forth. It would be easiest to just give up and lie there. Let the darkness take him and not try and fight back. What did it matter for the voice? He didn't even know what it was. And yet…he longed to find the girl that called out to him. It seemed like the more he heard it, the more he felt determined to find it. But it didn't look like it would have sounded again. But a different sort of voice started…from what seemed like the back of his mind. A whirl of voices, a whirl of images going too fast for Sora to grasp them, but drinking in every single scene as much he could.

"I knew I would find you _snoozing _down here!"

"First one to the tree wins! Go!"

"Sora- let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!"

"Sora…don't ever change."

"So-ra…"

"This is my lucky charm! Be _sure _to give it back to me!"

Sora's head snapped up, eyes widening despite the pain that rang through him. "Kairi!" He choked out, just grasping the image of the red-head girl. She was important, he knew that now. He wasn't sure how important, or how much she meant to him. But he had to get to her, he knew that now. Sucking in as deep a breath he could from the weight on his throat, the boy staggered to his feet, trying to steady himself against the pain swamping through him. Closing his eyes, he tried to catch a glimpse of the girl, hoping to get some strength from the image. But all he saw was a small flash of red hair and bright blue eyes. Trying to choke back disappointment, Sora opened his eyes once more, looking miserable by now as he looked forward to where the voice had last come from. He would never make it.

He steeled himself. He had to make it…right? What had happened before? What had caused him to be this way? Injured and wounded, unable to get up from the ground without having to put forth much more strength than needed? The thought made his stomach twist. He couldn't remember anything except for the flash of blue eyes, the warmth that seemed to leak little by little into Sora's cold chest at the thought of the voice echoing around him. It was the only reason that he was forcing himself into slow movement, dragging his left leg across the ground uselessly, nearly being blinded by the pain that rang from both that limb and his right arm.

…Kairi. He had to remember that name. She was important to him. Somebody that was worth being remembered. Somebody that was slowly luring him out of his uncaring fort of shadows. The warm blue eyes gleamed and burned in his mind, it was all he could see. It was all he could see amid the darkness and the pain that pressed in on him from all sides. He had no idea where he was going, following the gleam of the bright blue orbs with as much speed he could manage with his dragging leg and limp arm that burst with pain with each step.

But…they started glowing more. Brighter and brighter, gleaming and shimmering as they cut through the sharp blackness that shrouded the place. It banished the darkness, and slowly, the shadows melted off of Sora in a thick pool on the ground. The scene around Sora slowly tinged from pitch blackness, to a light gray, getting brighter by the moment. Blinking, he came to a slow stop, shaking with exhaustion where he stood, although he had only gone a few feet forward from where he had been before. The place was still empty, but it seemed nicer for some reason.

Haunted blue eyes slowly rounded with surprise, narrowing slightly as Sora tried to concentrate on standing upright. A small orb of light - like a little sun - shimmered and shone right in front of him. Warmth radiated off of it, and Sora realized that instead of climbing up a hill like he had been doing what seemed like ages ago, the place had smoothed in a flat land. Had he climbed the top of the hill? …What hill? He glanced over his shoulder, but nobody was behind him. He was all alone, and it felt wrong. Looking back over to the ball of glowing light, Sora's uninjured hand strayed forward, as if he wanted to reach over and touch it. But he jerked backwards at the last moment, eyeing the thing nervously.

Would it hurt him? After being in the shadows, it seemed like it would sting him on contact. But still…Sora felt exposed where he stood…empty and alone. It didn't feel right. He had followed the voice here…didn't that mean he didn't want to be alone? That he wanted to be with somebody? He had to admit, through the haze in his sluggish mind, the thought of being alone didn't appeal to him. But what would happen if he did touch it? What would it do? Wasn't this all there was now? That was what he thought earlier, shrouded in the black. It didn't make sense. There couldn't be more than two places…right?

He winced as another wave of pain stung him like a white-hot iron. He had to do something. He had to decide soon. Otherwise he might as well just lay back down. Otherwise he was forcing himself to be in pain for no reason. He bit his lower lip, glancing over his shoulder once more. Where had the girl gone? Was she in this ball of light? Tilting his head to the side, Sora shut his eyes tightly, letting out a small sigh. He had to just take a leap of faith here.

Hesitantly, he raised his left arm, reaching over and closing the distance between him and the orb.

And as soon as his fingertips touched the light, it swelled faster than a balloon, shedding bright, cold light over every inch of darkness, washing it away. Sora shut his eyes against the light, ducking away from it and raising his arm to rest over his face in a sort of shield. He could see the light from behind his eyelids, bleaching it bright red. An overwhelming feeling of warmth crashed into him, and he felt the pressure of hands gripping his chest gently, as if in an embrace. Startled, he jumped, twisting his head around and trying to see through the bright light.

A dull yellow stuck out against the bright light, blue eyes meeting his own as Sora looked back at the unexpected hug. They were brimming with a gratitude, and overall happiness in the darker eyes. Six words met Sora's ears, confusing him in the state he was in. "I knew you could do it." The blonde whispered.

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Silence had settled over the group once more. Kairi was being herded away gently by Riku, the man's arm wrapped comfortingly around her shoulders as he led her away from the scene. Everybody else had surged forward, looking down sadly at Sora and wallowing in their own guilt and remorse. They had failed, and the bitter taste of it hung low in the air. Yuffie was at the back of the crowd, looking down at the ground with a sense of sorrow more bitter than most of the others. "I should have stayed with you." He growled under her breath, shutting her eyes. "I hope you'll forgive me Sora…wherever you are."

"He was a good friend." Aerith spoke up, being the first to do so.

Leon paused a moment before adding, "He got under our skin. He was annoying and irritating…and we're all going to miss him."

Mickey pressed forward, voice steady for the sake of others. "He was a Keyblade Wielder, and would do anything to help his friends in a time of need. Even if it meant sacrificing himself in the process." Kairi cringed where she was walking. "This loss isn't our own, but every other worlds' as well. Sora had many friends, and with good reason. He would do anything and everything that was asked of him, and he wouldn't give another thought for it. He died like a hero, and that's how we'll remember him."

Everybody's eyes had been trained on the mouse, but Yuffie had been looking closely at Sora. As she had been for the last ten minutes. Something was nagging at her…she couldn't grasp it though. Something was different. With a jolt, she realized that people were looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Jarred out of her thoughts, Yuffie spoke rapidly, but kept her eyes trained on the boy. "He was surely something." She commented softly, eyes sad. "When I first saw him as a little wayward kid wandering around town, lost…I thought he would never amount to much at all. I wish I could have known how wrong I was back then."

Cid muttered agreement, voice rough as he took up the sayings. "When he crashed into my store, all panicked and shaken…I just thought he was like you were, Yuffie." The girl jumped at being commented on, still not paying all attention. "Lost his world and needed a place to stay. But he was different from the start. I knew that much. He refused to stay in the store, refused to be taken care of like a kid. He dashed right back outside, into the thick of the heartless. He wasn't about to let me stop him."

Aerith had drifted into Yuffie's line of vision. As soon as she saw it again, Yuffie reached forward, shoving the girl away with a lot more roughness than she usually used. Her friend yelped, catching herself before she fell, whirling around and looking over hotly at Yuffie. But the girl was pointing rapidly at Sora, eyes wide with something in the middle of fright and desperate hope. "Did you see that!" She shrieked, Kairi looking up from the couch where she sat with Riku in front of the fireplace. Her blue eyes flashed as she looked curiously at Yuffie, but the ninja pushed it away. "H-He moved!" She yelled, backtracking a few paces to stand by Aerith.

Mickey perked, looking over at Sora with confusion. "Yuffie, I know it's hard-" He started, but Merlin brushed quickly past him, blue eyes wide and intent on Sora. Weaving through the crowd of friends, Merlin stopped beside the bed, bending over Sora's body anxiously, eyes searching. Aerith rushed forward as well, intent on helping as much as she could. It was obvious that in what she lacked in fighting, she made up for in healing.

Sora's chest wasn't moving, but Aerith glanced back over at Yuffie, the girl's eyes not showing any kind of trace of mischief. She looked frightened out of her shoes, she couldn't be lying about something this big. As if she ever would, anyway. Leaning down quickly, Aerith pressed her ear against Sora's chest, careful not to put any weight on the boy's stomach as she did so. It took a few moments of silence, but eventually, Aerith leapt up with shock at the faint rasping noise that came from the keyblade bearer. "She's right!" She yelled, voice high-pitched with shock. "It's barely there- but somehow it's there!" Kairi shot to her feet, blue eyes gleaming as a smile stretched over her face. The people in the crowd immediately started to erupt, shocked faces, hopeful glances, and loving smiles on their faces. Was it possible that their Keyblade Bearer wouldn't be taken from them?

"It sounds like something is constricting his breathing." Aerith murmured, drawing closer to Merlin. Her mind was racing forward, three steps ahead of what she was planning to do. Her green eyes were thoughtful, and the noise of the crowd behind her was muted in her mind. All that mattered was here and now. Merlin nodded to her quickly, eyes narrowed as he thought deeply as well. "Maybe it's something pressing on his lungs?" Aerith whispered, glancing over at him.

Merlin nodded quickly, reaching out with his wand and making the tip down so that it pointed down lightly on Sora's chest. He muttered a few words under his breath, eyes almost begging for any kind of hope. For this to work. A sliver of silver light streamed from Merlin's wand, seeping into Sora's chest and disappearing. Aerith gripped a piece of her dress, wringing it between her hands nervously, eyes shadowed with worry as she watched Merlin carefully. "Please work." She prayed, closing her eyes. "Please, Please, Please…"

Suddenly, Sora's blue eyes showed for a millisecond, jerking upward and gasping sharply, lungs cleared. Merlin drew back sharply, eyes wide as he looked anxiously at the boy. Aerith could tell that he was worried he had hurt the boy in the process. Sora fell back down, eyes closing once more as he went unconscious once more. But he was breathing better now, like he was asleep. Relief swamped over Aerith so strong, she nearly fell over, staggering slightly. Her green eyes were soft and she had to grip the end of the bed to stay upright. She let out a small laugh, eyes wide with shock. They had done it.

"He's better!" Leon called out, voice shocked and yet happy.

"It's a miracle!" Yuffie shrieked, voice high.

"Sora! I told you I could bring you back!" Kairi yelled, rushing forward with a large smile on her face. Love shone across her features, and it wasn't a secret at all anymore. Her blue eyes were soft, and she reached over, gripping Sora's hand tightly as she let out a small laugh. Riku breathed out slowly, ducking his head and smiling. He mumbled something underneath his breath, but Aerith couldn't hear. But it must have meant something to him. She smiled, deciding she would ask.

Through all the cheers and smiles and happiness, Sora did not respond. But Aerith looked closer, and she could have sworn that she saw a small little smile across his face.

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A/N: Let's end on a happy note, shall we? So here's the deal: I got Marching Band tomorrow, so no update. And then on Friday my friends are coming over. No update then. And then all weekend shall be devoted to Natsucon. So…probably not until Monday. I'm sorry, but I managed to stay up late and get this all out to you before I had to leave for a while! But that doesn't mean I don't wanna hear from you! Please review! :D

Next chapter will be something to look forward to.

Hopefully I'll surprise you all…

Muhahahaha.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: The anime convention was SO fun. And it gave me a lot of ideas for my story. I was thinking of sending a couple videos your guys' way so that you could see all the awesome fun we had, but I didn't know whether or not you would all be into it as much as I was. Anyway, I bought a lot of crap I didn't need, which is like…what happens at Anime Conventions XDD

ON ANOTHER NOTE. I was wanting to type all weekend. My fingers were like…itching to type out words. Every time I passed the computer I was like, "Wait for me everybody, it's only another day! D:" Hopefully I'll get this out soon, but I probably wont ;3

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Pounding, rapid footsteps fumbled over the sand of the island, high-pitched giggles and shrieks the only other noise other than the small rumble of the waterfall over in the shaded corner. Children rushed back and forth, wide smiles and gleaming eyes on the faces of all the kids. A game of Tag was a simple sport, an overplayed and tedious game to most. But these little kids looked like they were having the time of their lives. A brunette flashed by a silver-haired boy, giving a laugh and reaching out, giving him a high-five as he went past. A red-head stumbled behind, letting out a high squeak as she caught the movement. "Hang on!" She wailed, pushing herself faster. "Wait up, Sora!" She whined.

"You can get caught if you want!" Sora laughed, voice much younger and higher as he threw a look over his shoulder. The girl huffed at the words, looking like she was on the brink of being irritated. "Oh come on, Kairi!" He said, skidding to a halt, spraying sand up as he did so. "Tidus is going to get you, and then you'll get out!" He frowned as he spoke, reflectively brooding over the weird game of Tag. If it were up to him, Kairi would just be the new 'It', but Tidus always played this game a little oddly. And Sora was one of the youngest in the group, it wasn't like he was going to say no to playing with them.

"It's not like they're coming after us." Kairi puffed, coming to a much-neater halt in front of Sora. She was grinning, voice light as she spoke. "Tidus went after Riku, I think he was heading over to the other side of the island." She shrugged as she spoke, nodding over to where she figured the two had went. "Do you still wanna play this game?" She pressed, glancing over to where the caught people were supposed to sit after they had been Tagged. So far it was only Selphie sitting there, looking a little put-out at being the only kid out so far. Sora had noticed her hopeful look trained on him, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was waiting for him to get out. But she was probably waiting for just somebody to get out so she wouldn't be so bored.

"Yeah, it's fun." Sora said, blinking at her sort of slowly, like he wondered why she would ask something like that. "Anyway, you gotta admit, this island is pretty cool right? We should play hide-and-seek after this." He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to agree. She had only just gotten to this beach a few weeks ago, he was anxious in wondering if she liked it here or not. The thought of her going back to her old home made his stomach do flips. He didn't know where she had lived beforehand, but surely it couldn't be as good as it was here in Destiny Islands? And besides, he liked having her here. She was just as much fun as Riku. And even if the older boy tried to hide it, Sora could tell that he was privately warming up to Kairi little by little.

The red-head opened her mouth to agree, when suddenly Sora lurched forward, shoving her to the side with as much force a little nine year old could muster. Kairi flailed in the air for a moment, eyes wide as she stumbled backwards. "What was that for!" She shouted, looking back up with her face flushed bright red. Sora didn't listen, side-stepping with grace and speed, lunging out with his foot and tensing it stiffly. Tidus let out a startled yelp, unable to stop himself before he swung forward, tripping himself up with Sora's leg and slamming down to the sand with a hiss.

Kairi blinked rapidly, raising her shocked eyes up to meet Sora's. The boy looked just as surprised, eyebrows raised as he watched Tidus scramble to his feet. Did he just do that? He'd never been so quick like that. He was usually awkward and clumsy, fumbling around like he was in the dark. But just now…he'd become a totally different person! "What the heck!" Tidus whined, pulling himself up and dusting his clothes off with a crossed expression. "That was uncalled for, Sora! It's just a game of Tag!" Riku walked up slowly, a little cautiously, as if he wasn't sure whether or not the game had been paused. Then he seemed to shake it off, walking forward more smoothly, coming to stand beside Sora.

His blue eyes flashed as he glared warningly at Tidus. The way he always did whenever somebody picked on Sora. "Calm down, Tidus." He said, much more gentler than Sora was planning to say. "You were gonna tag Kairi, what else was he gonna do?" Turning his attention back over at Sora, he looked him up and down, as if sizing the boy up. "That was really cool, what you just did." He said eventually, Sora twitching at the superior tone in his friend's voice. "Have you done it before?"

"…No." Sora said, a little lost. He wanted to keep playing tag.

Tidus seemed to think the same, fuming where he stood, pouting openly. "Come on, Riku, it doesn't matter." He swept on. Looking more harshly at Sora now, his next words came in a snap. "You're out, Sora. I touched you when I tripped over you." Sora blinked, giving Tidus a look that he hoped expressed how stupid he thought that new rule was. "You shouldn't have tripped me either!" Tidus went on before he could manage to get it out. "So you're disqualified." The last word came out a little funny, pronounced wrong by the little ten year old. But nevertheless, he looked angered by now.

Sora raised his arms into the air, looking over at Riku and Kairi, waiting for them to back him up. But Riku's mouth was in a firm line, not giving any help to the brunette anymore, it seemed. Kairi looked lost still, face alight with blush still as she stared with wide eyes at Sora. Huffing angrily, he spun on his heel, marching over to Selphie, who had stood up by now, eyes shining openly as Sora plodded over to sit down beside her. Falling down beside him, the girl turned, starting off a conversation right away, words coming out in a rush. Not understanding any of it, Sora leaned away slightly, hoping it wasn't all that noticeable. His blue eyes flickered over to her in slight disbelief as she continued to talk about her…pet fish? Or was it a dog?

He never talked to Selphie.

There was a reason for that.

He turned his attention back over to the game, trying to tune Selphie out as best he could. Kairi and Riku had jumped right back into the game. Kairi looked frazzled by now, but Tidus wasn't racing after her. He seemed bent on trying to catch Riku. Which wasn't what anybody had gotten to do yet in Tag. Riku was just too fast. Sora had come close to tagging him before, but if you ever asked Riku, he said that Sora was nowhere close. But whatever. Right now, Tidus was actually getting pretty close to him though, and Riku seemed to know this fact. The boy gritted his teeth, veering sharply to the left and coming back the way they had come. They were heading over to where Sora and Selphie were sitting.

Smiling widely, Sora leaned forward, not sure whether or not he was going to root for Riku or Tidus. But they were neck-and-neck by now, all Tidus had to do was reach out and tag him. "You aren't gonna win just yet!" Riku shouted back, laughing as he called over his shoulder. Tidus was running too fast to reply, but narrowed his eyes with a smirk. Obviously, he was accepting the challenge. Riku hopped forward, in hopes of creating more distance in between them. Tidus wasn't that smart. And Sora wasn't paying attention to how he was sitting.

Once again, Tidus tripped over Sora's leg, which had been sticking out on accident. Spluttering rapidly, the boy shot up, anger alive in every feature by now. He whirled around, more angry than Sora could try and comprehend. He'd never seen somebody so angry. "…Oops…" He mumbled, snapping his leg back so that he was sitting cross-legged. "Sorry, Tidus." He said quickly, wondering why his friend was getting so worked up over a simple game of Tag.

But Tidus was far from angry. And as Riku came to a slow stop a ways away from the two, Sora felt a regretful pang in his chest as he realized why the boy was getting so worked up. Nobody had beaten Riku in Tag before. There was no question about it, if Tidus had kept up running for the next few seconds, he would have gotten Riku. Knowing how it felt to lose to Riku, Sora deflated once more, sulking with a small little frown on his face. It usually got his mom to forgive him in less than a heartbeat, but so far it didn't seem like it would work for Tidus.

"Sor-ra!" Tidus yelled, voice having an edge to it. Kairi started where she was by the shore, retracing her steps quickly, more or less hopping back to where Tidus was yelling. Riku didn't move, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood, looking a little expectantly. "I was _just _going to tag Riku and you ruined it!" Sora winced away from this. "I was going to _tag_ Riku! That _never_ happens! You're out anyway, why are you being such an idiot now!" His eyes were narrowed, suddenly looking a lot taller than Sora from the boy's vantage point.

"I said sorry." Sora mumbled ungraciously. "It was on accident this time, I swear."

"Swear all you want." Tidus grumbled, looking ruffled and irritated. "I'm going home." And like every little child, he turned, getting far too worked up about something so little. He stomped away, kicking up gritty sand in his wake the farther he went along. Sora watched, aware of everybody looking at him. Also aware of the fact that the whole game was ruined by him single-handedly. He didn't know whether or not to be impressed or depressed. Kairi came to a stop beside him, eyes narrowed as she watched Tidus stomp back over to the canoes.

"Don't mind him, Sora." She said under her breath. "He's being dumb."

The ultimate insult for a child so little.

"Yeah, I guess." Sora puffed, shoving his hands into his shorts glumly. Riku walked forward finally, stopping a little ways away from Sora. Selphie had managed to be quiet during the little feud, but now she was standing, excitedly talking about the new jump rope she got yesterday. Declaring that she was going to go around hitting people with it. Selphie was weird. "Sorry, Riku." Sora mumbled, eyes downcast as he looked at the sand below his feet. A large amount of it had gotten into his shoes by now, the feeling familiar from long days on this beach.

"You didn't have to do that." Riku snapped, looking almost as ticked off as Tidus was. Almost, but not quite as mad. "I was doing fine on my own. You're out, and didn't play by the rules. If you keep doing stupid stuff like this, Tidus wont ever let you play with him again." Sora twitched angrily. Why did nobody believe that he didn't want to trip Tidus?! He was running out of patience.

"Tidus was the one being mean." Kairi sprang to his defense. "Just calm down, Riku."

"I _am _calm." Riku snorted. A silence formed for a moment, if you didn't count Selphie's chatter. Then he spoke up finally, looking after Tidus, who was already halfway to the Main Land. "I'm gonna go too." He said finally, brushing past Sora and Kairi over to the little dock with his canoe drifting on the surface of the water. Going down so that he waded through the water, Riku leaned down, busying himself by untying the knot wrapped around it.

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay?" Sora asked, blinking. "If you go, that means I have to too."

"Well then come on. Nobody's stopping you." Riku threw over, looking over at the smaller boy a little sharper than he usually did. Kairi and Sora exchanged glum looks. It seemed like Tag ruined everybody's mood today. They weren't going to get to play hide-and-seek today after all. "I'm leaving." Riku said, hopping into the boat. "Are you coming, or not, slowpoke?"

Sora bristled at the name. Was he referring to the game? "No." He retorted, spinning around and crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "I'm staying here. If you're going to be mean, then I wont hang out with you anymore! Ever!" The words were a little childish, but Sora was angry. Why did nobody believe him? It was a stupid mistake, all blown of out of range! Riku grumbled something under his breath, something about stupid little kids. Which only made Sora more angry. Riku acted like he was a jillion years older than him! When it was really only by one or two years!

"Sora, you're mom will wonder where you are!" Riku called.

"I don't care!" Sora snapped, glaring sharply at the waterfall.

Kairi looked from Riku back over at Sora, looking a little confused as she stood between them. As if she didn't know what she was going to do now that the two of them were fighting. Selphie had even shut up, mouth small as she looked from the brunette to the older boy. Both were quiet, and when Riku spoke, it almost made Sora jump with surprise. "Fine then. We're going to leave without you. Come on, guys."

For a moment, nobody moved, but then Kairi and Selphie turned, going over to Riku and clambering into the little boat as Riku shoved off from the dock. "Last chance, Sora!" He called, already being taken away by the waves. Sora didn't budge, cheeks puffed out angrily, glowering at the waterfall still, wondering if he would have to apologized later for looking at it so mean for so long. It didn't deserve it.

When he didn't respond, Riku shrugged. "Your loss!" He called over, turning and sitting down, paddle already in hand. Blinking, Sora turned, eyes following the small little boat as it made its slow progress back to the Main Land. Only then did he realize how stupid this was. The sun was going down, it would be night soon. Riku and the others wouldn't get back for a while, and Sora was all alone. But he wasn't about to call them back over.

Stubborn and at a loss of anything else to do, Sora plopped down on the sand, watching the waves intently and trying not to look back up at the boat.

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The feeling was something that should have been recognized. And yet, it felt weird…similar…but different all at the same time. After you come off of a really wild roller coaster just after you ate, or when you read a book while swinging back and forth on a swing. Or maybe at a birthday party, when you're blindfolded and whirling around and around, trying to hit the piñata or pin the tail on the paper donkey. All in all, each event made you disoriented, mind foggy and stomach clenching in on itself like somebody was squeezing it and twisting it.

Mind fuzzy and unclear, Sora's blue eyes slowly opened a little, immediately snapping shut as a bright light shone right into his face. He winced, trying to remember what happened. But a haze of black was shrouding his thoughts, he wasn't able to think clearly. All he felt was his upset stomach, the pain ringing through his limbs. In the back of his mind, though, he caught a single thought. He was laying down in a bed. When had that happened?

Forcing himself to ignore the pain, he opened his eyes, managing to lift his head a little to look down. Sure enough, he was sitting in a white bed, catching a small glimpse of bandages wrapped tightly around his arm. What had happened? He didn't recognize the place around him, it was different. Blue eyes confused, he tried to turn to look around better, but he stiffened at the sound of voices down below. They were muffled, he wasn't able to distinguish their voices. "We're just gonna go down to the store." Somebody was saying, a few voices rising up to agree with the speaker. "We still need Stocking stuff. And we're gonna make sure that his stocking is gonna overflow with stuff, right guys?"

"…What?" Sora managed to get out, voice rasping painfully in his throat. Where was he? And how did he get here? The voices sounded like they were coming from up underneath the floor. Slowly, he grimaced, pushing himself up painfully, gritting his teeth as he did so. Trembling with the effort, he pushed himself up to a half-sitting position, face pinched with pain as he did so. There were more voices, he had to listen hard to hear what they were saying this time through the stinging pain. "We're going to go with them. We're going to get more bandages."

Another voice. "Are you sure it'll be alright to leave me alone with him?" It asked nervously.

"You wont be alone." Another voice assured. "Axel should be back any minute now. And you'll have old grumpy-pants here to keep you company too"

"I'm not grumpy." A new voice snapped back, irritably.

A quiet voice this time: "Here, I'll stay here with you guys."

Sora perked, eyes widening. Axel was here? What was he doing here? Hissing, Sora pushed himself up so that he was sitting up straight. Blue eyes wide and slightly panicked, Sora got as good a look as he could around the house. He didn't recognize it at all. It was a large, spacious, empty floor. Nothing much was up here besides the bed he was sitting on and a chair next to the bed, which was empty. Was somebody watching him before? WHERE WAS HE?

Slowly, a door opened, footsteps plodding up the stairs and heading this way. Sora stiffened, eyes wide as they trained on the upcoming sound. Heart ramming painfully against his chest. Shuffling over to face the other way, Sora leaned over, putting his feet down gingerly on the ground. He felt like his body was just one big bruise, weighted down with molten lead. But the person coming up here was almost up, and Sora wasn't going to be sitting down when they came here. He had no idea who it was or what they wanted, but it couldn't be anything good, right?

What did he last remember? …Rain? That was all that came to mind.

Bracing himself against the pain that was sure to come, Sora pushed himself up quickly, giving himself no to hesitate or rethink his situation. His leg immediately didn't support him, buckling underneath the sudden weight and causing him to fall forward with a sickening snapping sound from the injured limb. As he fell, he banged his right arm against the ground, immediately regretting the decision of getting up by now. Growling, he used his less-coordinated, left arm to push himself up. His leg was screaming in pain, he must have done something to it when he tried standing.

Nevertheless, he managed to get up as soon as the mysterious person rounded the small corner, eyes flying wide as he looked at Sora. The boy was currently gripping the metal headboard of the bed he had been in only moments before. One eye was closed in pain, the other narrowed suspiciously over to the newcomer. But immediately, the anger turned to fright, dread, and overall hopelessness as Sora stared at the man in front of him. "No way." He said, voice coming out small and sad as he looked at the person in front of him. He started to tremble, leg starting to fall out from underneath him. The man jerked into motion, reaching out as he started forward. Immediately, Sora reacted, pushing himself upright, keyblade shimmering into his hand in a moment. "Stay back!" He yelled, stumbling backwards as he dragged his lame leg after him. "I'm warning you!"

His left hand wasn't as coordinated as his right, the keyblade aimed awkwardly at the man.

"No, Sora, let me explain!" The man said quickly, trying to get closer.

"Stay there!" He shouted, like he was talking to a dog.

"Just let me _talk_." The man pressed, coming forward again.

Couldn't he ever get a break! His throat stung, as well as his eyes. It seemed like he was a hot potato being passed around to everybody! He tried to get away from the Organization and here he was, waking up to see that he actually landed in the clutches of Ansem! Was this just going to be his life from now on? Shoved back and forth like a volleyball, unable to get away from his enemies? Where was Xemnas? Was he here too? The thought nearly made him buckle forward once more.

There was a muttering downstairs, Sora noticed with a jolt that the others downstairs were quickly rushing up here. This room wasn't big, if he was going to get out and find Axel, he had to get down before they came up. Jerking around, Sora blurted out a random magic spell from the fogginess of his mind. A black hole appeared at the edge of the room, Ansem letting out a surprised yell as his legs slipped out from underneath him, the man being dragged sharply over to the large black circle.

Panic making him quicker, Sora limped heavily forward, going considerably fast for a person with only one working leg and arm. The others were almost up at the top, Sora could tell that much. But there was a red haze of pain that was slowly swallowing his eyesight, he was walking blindly. Before he knew it, the floor disappeared, and he was falling forward. As soon as he hit the ground and bounced back up, he knew he found the stairs. Falling down the series of steps, Sora let out a pained cry, the only thing he could really do right about now.

His leg banged against the sides of the steps, and he was too wrapped in pain to realize that the two people heading upstairs had tripped over him, slamming down on the steps on their own accord. He didn't think that the steps would ever end, but eventually, he crashed flush against a wall, being as good a stopper as any. Dazed, Sora forced himself up again, hearing everybody yelling sharply behind him. Fumbling, it took him a moment to find the doorknob, but he twisted it, ripping open the door and dashing out of it. He was in another room, clean and tidy. He didn't have time to look around, tripping over himself and staggering as he made his way for the other door. He didn't think this was another castle, but he wondered how many other doors there were.

He didn't have time to wonder anymore, though. The door opened wide, a familiar figure standing in the door. He looked disinterested for a moment, holding bags of food with a bored look on his face. But as soon as he saw Sora charging straight for him, he dropped his bags, eyes widening with shock and…well…shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sora hurled himself straight at Axel, reaching forward with both arms and clinging painfully to the Organization Member. He was shaking and trembling, eyes shut tightly as he buried his face in Axel's cloak. "Axel!" He cried, flinching away from the voices as the people from before rushed down the stairs.

"What's going on here!" Axel yelled, caught off-guard as he stared down at Sora.

"Where are we! I don't know what's going on! Ansem's upstairs! We have to go!"

"Sora, calm down!" Axel said, shock changing into worry as he looked down at the worked-up kid. "Look, it's just-"

The door burst open, Riku stumbling out with a startled look on his face. "Sora!"

At the voice, Sora leaned back, grabbing Axel's wrist with a lot more strength than Axel would have given him credit for. "We have to go!" Sora yelled sharply, tugging on Axel and pulling him away from the doorway. He was going to step on one of the grocery bags. But from the crazed look in the boy's face, Axel felt a pang of sadness. Sora probably didn't have any idea what was happening. Considering the last thing he probably remembered was…dying. He reached out to comfort him, but suddenly Aerith weaved around Axel, a small bottle gripped in her hand.

"He doesn't need any more potions! He's just confused!" Axel called over Sora's frantic yelling.

Aerith paid no heed. Reaching over, the girl poured the soft green liquid over Sora. The boy straightened, whirling around to look at her defiantly. But whatever was in the bottle was already working. Sora's eyes cleared somewhat, a sleepy look coming over his face. He sagged backwards, and Axel caught him before he could fall. The groceries remained untouched on the ground. Sora's blue eyes flashed slightly as he met Axel's own, opening his mouth and murmuring out softly to him. "Axel?" He prompted, blinking slowly. "I don't…" His forehead creased, mouth open as if he forgot what he was going to say.

"You're in Hollow Bastian." Axel explained, a small smile on his face at Sora's odd look. "We managed to bring you back here in one piece. You're safe now. You just have to remember that." From behind him, Leon walked up, looking over his shoulder and down at Sora worriedly. The boy caught sight of him, looking lost for a moment, reaching up and rubbing the bruise that had appeared on his cheek. But then he smiled lightly, a little crookedly.

"We are?" He asked, eyes starting to close.

Alarmed, Axel looked up at Aerith. But the girl seemed prepared for the question that was on his lips. "It's okay. It's just a potion that calms people down, helps them get over shock and things like that. It would be weird if he _didn't _go to sleep." Her eyes were sympathetic as she looked at him. "He's been through a lot, we should just let him sleep."

"Right." Axel muttered, watching Sora until the boy's breathing was deep and even. "Take him, I gotta deal with these groceries." He mumbled, turning Sora over to Leon carefully. The man took the burden without a word, turning and retracing his steps back upstairs. It took a while to pick up the scattered pieces of food, but with Aerith's help, it went much faster. Turning, Axel tried to remember where Yuffie told him to put the food. But he stopped short as he saw Riku.

The man was standing expectantly behind him, waiting for him to turn around. His eyes were shadowed as he stared at Axel, and for a moment he wasn't sure at all what to do. But then finally Riku spoke up, ducking his head. "He went to you…" He murmured under his breath. "And not to me…he looked at me like…like I was a murderer that was trying to take him."

"Can you blame him?" Axel pressed, shrugging past Riku as he continued to speak. "Kid just woke up with the last thing he remembered as dying. You don't look like yourself much either. If I woke up from something like that to see my enemy in the corner…you'd be dead by now. Burned to a crisp."

Riku muttered something.

Trying to lighten the mood, Axel added. "Like bacon."

"I got it." Riku growled, turning and eyeing the Christmas Tree that Axel had helped Yuffie, Leon, and Kairi set up yesterday. "We still gotta decorate it." The boy said finally. Aerith had left out the door, probably going to pass the news to the others. They were all spread out, it would be pretty difficult. Yuffie and Kairi were off to the store for more ornaments, Merlin and Cid off for more gauze and bandages. Goofy and Donald were returning from their false-mission, Mickey had to go and fetch them. They still weren't back yet. The place seemed empty now.

"Now that Sora might be coming around, we should wait for him." Axel said, turning and stacking the food into cabinets tidily.

Riku mumbled agreement, sticking his hands into his pockets. "He'd like that." The teen noted, eyes glazing over. "It used to be a tradition of ours to spend Christmas together, have a sleep-over on Christmas Eve. We'd decorate the tree, make cookies…Sora would always pick up on cheesy Christmas songs." He smirked, shaking his head back and forth slowly. His smile faltered a moment as he added, "We haven't done that in such a long time."

"Then it'll be even more fun this time." Axel said smoothly, desperate to not have the atmosphere dreary like this.

"Hey…I'm sorry." Riku said flatly. Axel turned, blinking with slight surprise. "I'm sorry for implying that I didn't want him to see you. It's just…I haven't seen him in so long. I was such a monster back then. I never apologized." His eyes closed a moment. "He probably wont even want to see me when he wakes up fully."

Axel hesitated before answering, knowing this was a sensitive topic "Of course he will. You know Sora. His policy is: 'Forgive and wipe every single scene of what happened from the face of the planet and never think about it again.' It wont be a thing of luck for him to accept your apology."

"I dunno." Riku shrugged, turning and looking over at the tree. "Luck isn't always on my side most of the time."

Axel gave a small laugh. "Then you're more like Sora than I thought."

This got a smile out of him. "I guess you're right." He said eventually. "I should probably go and see Aerith…if she needs any help-"

"Wait." Axel said, looking around at the mostly-empty room. Apart from the tree, and decorated mantle, the whole place was mostly the same. Not looking like Christmas at all. But maybe it could look like something else…something special for Sora. "I have an idea." He said, smiling slightly.

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A/N: Sorry for the ending, I'm tired from the anime convention and I'm really up past my bedtime. T^T

Hopefully we'll get a lot of reviews with this one! We got past 450! :D

The first part is a little foreshadowing. If you must know o-o

EVERYBODY MUST GO SEARCH UP BOTH CALL ME BATMAN

AND BEST FRIEND BY TOYBOX BECAUSE BEST FRIEND TOTALLY FITS SORA AND AXEL XDDD

Batman is just hilarious X3


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. High School is hard…especially when you have marching band till five, and then your sister is selfish and takes the computer for homework every single night because she's too lazy to bring her textbook home. Goodness. I'm so glad it's Saturday. You have no idea. At least I figured out where my classes are.

I've been totally thinking about this story all week though. I debated on making another story in addition to this one, but I'm just gonna keep adding chapters. It'd be a really short sequel, I think. But I've been thinking of it a lot, and I feel like a lot of the stuff I did this weekend was like…related somewhat to this story XD

It was weird. I just couldn't STOP relating things. It's like a disease. Every song I heard, I was making little music videos in my head. o3o

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The Items store was packed. After all, at this time of year, it seemed like every store in town was filled to the brim with frantic women and whining children. Kairi, and Yuffie stood near the front of the line by now, having stood in line for a good forty minutes, it seemed. Yuffie blew out her cheeks, looking around at the Christmas decorations and toys lined on the wall, being advertised as 'The Perfect Christmas gift for your Child.' So far, Yuffie had counted at least ten kids that had asked for that in the store. So far, only two of them had managed to talk their parents into getting it.

"So what're we supposed to get?" Kairi prompted, turning around to look at Yuffie with a raised eyebrow. Yuffie jumped, caught off-guard by the question. They had been standing in line for so long, she'd nearly forgotten. Reaching into her back pocket, ready to withdraw the small list of Christmas supplies they had been sent out to fetch. She was pretty sure that it just meant buying ornaments, but she'd better check anyway. After Merlin and Cid had branched off to the other stores to look for more bandages for Sora, the two girls had been sent off to buy the rest of the Christmas stuff.

But to Yuffie's surprise, her pocket vibrated, a small ringing noise only just meeting her ears amid all the other sounds in the store. Blinking, she changed her tactics, a small cell phone in substitute of the list as she brought it out of her pocket. Kairi glanced down at the thing in slight confusion, but Yuffie just raised her index finger a moment, bringing the phone up to her ear and calling out a greeting. The black-haired girl waited a moment, then a confused look came over her face. "…What?" She asked, looking thoroughly lost for a minute.

She huffed angrily, looking crossly at the crowd of yelling people around her. "Hang on a minute." She said into the phone. Bringing it away from her face, she looked at Kairi, apologetic. "I gotta go outside, otherwise I'll probably end up deaf." Kairi shrugged in response, giving her a quick smile to show that she didn't care all that much. Yuffie spun around, weaving through the maze of people in her pursuit to the door. Her voice drifted over to Kairi a moment before it was lost in the other voices. "He did _what_?"

Blowing out a huff of air, Kairi shoved her hands into her pockets with a small frown playing on her face. The line moved ahead a little bit, and Kairi inched along behind the person in front of her. She hoped the line would stay still until Yuffie got back. She wouldn't know what to do until she got back. After all, Yuffie had the list. Kairi just came along because the ninja wouldn't let her keep staying in the house. Which was good, she guessed. She supposed the longer she had stayed in the house, the smaller it seemed to get.

But it wasn't like she would just forget everything and just preoccupy herself with shopping. It was true, whenever she could, she and Selphie would always go shopping together over the weekends. But she couldn't get Sora out of her mind. Would he be alright? Of course he would, she smoothed herself easily. Why wouldn't he be? He's been fine for the past few days. Her thoughts were interrupted by something colliding into her leg, Kairi jumping with surprise as she looked down, eyes wide.

A little boy jumped, eyes flying open as he looked up at her with astonishment. "Jeez!" He said quickly, words coming out in a rush. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to knock into you! I just can't find my mom in here, I think I'm lost!" He turned in a full circle as he spoke, eyes roving the much-taller people towering over him. Kairi frowned. "It's just that I think my mom might have left me all alone and now-" He broke off, wringing his hands together nervously, big green eyes looking up sadly at Kairi.

A pang of sympathy struck Kairi in the chest. She gave the little boy a smile, leaning down to crouch down in front of him. "It'll be alright." She assured easily, reaching over and putting a comforting hand on the little child's shoulder. "We'll find your mom. It'll be easy." She glanced up, leaning over to look over at the Cashier, who looked frazzled as she handed out random parcels to the people crowding around the counter. Would she have time to try and help find the kid's mom? "What's your name?" She prompted, looking back down at the little child.

"Akira." He mumbled, reaching up and wiping his eyes roughly. "Could you really find my mom?" He sounded as if he didn't believe her. But before Kairi could try and reassure him, he added on quickly. "My friend is here with us. She might be lost too, we gotta find her. …What's your name? My mom says not to go with strangers."

Kairi figured that it would have been a stupid rule to follow at a time like this. But she merely smiled, tipping her head to the side as she did so. For some reason, this child reminded her of somebody, but she couldn't figure out who it could have been. The child had black hair and startling green eyes. It wasn't like anybody she had even encountered before. "I'm Kairi." She said easily, grinning a little crookedly.

Akari hesitated a moment before returning the smile. "I guess we're not strangers anymore." He said, voice lightening up somewhat. But then he frowned once more, looking around. "So, where do you think my mom could be?" He asked, blinking rapidly. Kairi opened her mouth to answer, but somebody prodded her in the back, snapping out sharp words to her. She jumped guiltily, realizing that the line had moved up considerably, and she hadn't followed them forward. Grabbing the boy's hand tightly, she swept forward, walking ahead a few feet until she could be level with the line once more.

"What does she look like?" Kairi asked, getting on her toes and peering around at the people around her. Akira didn't seem to hear her though, reaching up and scratching the back of his head nervously, green eyes flitting back and forth anxiously. He seemed utterly lost, and Kairi couldn't help remembering how she had felt the same way, back when she had first washed up on the beach when she was little. The memory made her wince, but then the edges of her lips turned up in a small smile. She had found Sora…well, it was more like Sora had found her. But nevertheless, she had found Sora, and Akira had found her.

"Hey!" Kairi jumped yet again, cursing herself for suddenly becoming really jumpy. Turning around, relief washed over her as she saw Yuffie inching her way towards her, stepping around people loaded with Christmas presents and decorations. When she finally came to a stop, her eyes landed right on Akira, eyes becoming confused. Akira blinked slowly, gripping Kairi's hand a little more tightly as he locked eyes with the Ninja. Yuffie opened her mouth to say something, and Kairi hoped that it would be about what she had been talking over on the phone. But she only pointed down at Akira, blinking rapidly. "Okay, I know I left to answer the phone…" She said. "But I _know _I didn't take _that _long."

Kairi smiled, rolling her eyes. "He's not mine." She pressed, Yuffie smirking. "He's lost and he doesn't know where his mom is. I was hoping that we could help him find her and his friend." The little boy glanced up at her as she explained the situation, eyes shaded with a slight regret at the fact that the two girl's had to drop everything to help him. In response, she shook her head slightly, flashing him a smile. Yuffie didn't seemed bothered by the fact though, merely shrugging as she tucked her phone away.

"Should've known that I couldn't leave you to your own devices." Yuffie laughed, giving a small wave to the kid. But she looked back up at Kairi, not waiting for the boy to wave back at her. "Listen, you should probably help him." She said. "That was Riku that just called, they just gave me a cra-" Glancing down at the boy, she backtracked. "A LOT of new orders on what to buy. They don't think we're buying enough as much as we should."

Kairi's forehead creased. "What?" She asked, blinking.

"I don't know. It was Axel's idea." Perking up, she turned, a smile coming over her face. "Finally, we're next. You'd better find his mom quick, then, alright?" Turning over to Akira, she added, almost as an after-thought. "And don't worry, kid, Kairi will be able to find your mom. She had a sort of knack for these things." Kairi smile vanished at this, a small frown on her face. Akira blinked, catching the sudden change of mood. "And if she can't do it, I'll help you two out, okay?" When neither of the two answered, she shrugged, turning around and walking up to the Register, ready to start ordering whatever she was supposed to buy that Riku had given her.

Kairi stood still a moment before she shook herself out of it, turning and pulling Akira along gently. "Alright then." She said, looking around the way-too-crowded store. It was apparent that it was crowded, but it was good that this was one of the bigger stores around here. It was made to fit a lot of people like this. "Where were you when you last saw your mom?" She asked, looking down at the boy with an encouraging smile.

But Akira was thinking of something else, eyes puzzled. "What's the matter?" He asked.

Kairi blinked, caught off-guard by the question. "…Nothing." She said, looking bemused. "Nothing's wrong. Now- about your mom-"

"You looked sad when that girl said that." Akira interrupted her. It seemed like finding his mom was at the bottom of the totem pole right now for some reason. Which was odd, considering a few seconds he had been worked up so much for it. Did he had attention problems? He was still looking at her expectantly, so she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, a little uncomfortable.

"It's just that I have a friend, and he's not doing so well right now." She was walking on nails right now, trying to avoid the details. He was a little kid, but she might as well give the gist of it if she wanted to get him thinking about his mom again. "I'm really worried about him. Before now, he's been missing a long time, and now we're trying to get him to feel better." She gave him a weak smile. "It'll be fine though, I'm sure. He's getting better, I think."

At first, Kairi thought the kid would have turned back immediately to the task at hand, but instead, his eyes widened, amazement flooding into the green depths. "Oh my gosh!" He yelled, reaching up and putting a hand over his mouth. "So you're the people!" He gasped, smiling widely. Kairi started, staring at him for a moment before looking around aimlessly, wondering whether or not he was talking to her. But nobody else was looking at them. And he was looking right at her.

"…Me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Akira said eagerly, bouncing up and down. "You guys! You guys are all anybody is talking about!" He let go of her hand, turning and bouncing circles around her. Kairi spun in the small space he left her, trying to keep up with the now-hopping child. "You're the people that have that really sick person at their house! And then you killed all those black things that tried to take over! Oh my GOSH this is AWESOME! My friends will be so jealous when they hear that I actually talked to you!" His smile stretched from ear to ear, and when he finally skidded to a stop, he whirled around to look at her, beaming. "This is so awesome." He repeated.

"Wait…you know about all that?" Kairi asked, getting more and more lost.

"Everybody does." Akira said, looking at her like she had just crawled out from underneath a rock. "You guys are like…famous or something. At least, the story was on the news once…" He trailed away, seeming to shrink underneath Kairi weirded-out stare. "…Well, it's true." He muttered. "We were all told that if-"

"Akira!" A voice drifted over through the other voices around them. Turning, Kairi watched as a small little brunette girl rushed through people, arms throwing out wide as she crashed into the boy, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "There you are! We were looking everywhere for you!" From behind her, a woman walked forward, resembling the boy in her black hair and green eyes.

The woman looked relieved at the sight of her son, reaching over and grabbing the child's hand, pulling him towards her gently. "Akira!" She said crossly, looking sternly down at the black-haired boy. "I thought I told you to stay close by! Do you know how worried you got me! Where did you go?" Though her voice was sharp, her eyes were affectionate, she meant well. "I hope you didn't get into trouble." She added, the brunette giggling where she stood beside the two.

"No!" Akira said crossly, pushing his mother away so that he could breathe. "I was fine! She helped me." He pointed back at Kairi, who jumped, embarrassment flooding over her, making her turn red. The mother blinked, tilting her head to the side a moment. Remembering what Akira had just told her, she winced, readying herself for a comment about what had happened before. That was, if Akira had been telling the truth in the first place.

But she only smiled. "Thank-you." She said warmly. "I wasn't watching him as closely as I should have been. But I appreciate your help, I really do. Without you, who knows where he could have gone." She eyed her son as she spoke, raising her eyes only to smile once more as Kairi before starting to walk away. "Come on, kids, let's go." She called back over her shoulder. "Akari, your mother will be wanting to pick you up soon, it's getting late."

She was right. The noise was dying down, and the crowd was thinning out.

"I thought you would have been lost forever." The brunette -Akari- laughed, pushing Akira gently on the shoulder.

"I was fine!" The boy flared at once, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sure you were. Race you to the doors!" She changed the subject quickly, preparing herself to sprint.

"No, you idiot! You'll run into somebody!"

"Will not!"

"Wanna bet on it?"

"…No! But I'll still do it!"

Kairi smiled, blue eyes softening. Now she knew who the little boy reminded her of.

But her smile vanished when Akira jogged forward, reaching up and tugging on the woman's pants anxiously. Since the crowds had thinned out, she was able to catch what the boy said. Getting on his toes, Akira glanced back at Kairi as he spoke. "That's one of the people who have the sick person." He said in her ear, not bothering to lower his voice. "She told me that he's getting better."

The woman started, turning around to look at her. But Kairi wasn't going to give her the chance. Turning around swiftly, she dove back into what remained of the crowd, retracing her steps back to Yuffie. But to her surprise, the girl was already walking over to her. "Hey." She grunted, strained underneath the weight of the bags she was juggling. Kairi took half the load, wincing as she did so. It was heavier than she thought it would be. Yuffie caught her expression, rolling her eyes with a small laugh. "I know right? It's a lot more stuff than I thought I was paying for. Hardly had enough money for it, mind you. Axel owes me for it all." Turning, she headed back outside, the air a lot colder than what it had been inside. It was stuffy and musty inside the store, Kairi was relieved to feel the freezing air wash over her.

"How'd you get this so fast?" Kairi asked, confused as she looked over to Yuffie. "I thought that you were always ranting about how slow the worker was to get things to you."

The Ninja scowled. "Yeah. I complained a lot like…three days ago? I think he got fired."

Her voice showed no regret.

Kairi hummed out a response, turning her attention back on the cobblestone street. They were walking up the stairs, heading for Merlin's house. The bags were getting heavier by the minute, Kairi hoped it wouldn't take them too much longer to get home. Yuffie mumbled something underneath her breath, turning and looking at something with a confused look. Kairi followed her gaze, seeing Akira and his friend standing off to the side, looking at them carefully, as if studying them. "What's their problem? Isn't that the kid you helped?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah…" Kairi murmured, wincing uneasily. "They must just be wanting to say good-bye again."

Yuffie didn't think too much about it, Kairi's skin itching at the lie. But Yuffie changed the subject quickly, smiling widely as she looked back at Kairi. "Okay, so get this. I wanted to tell you earlier, but with the kid there, I figured I wouldn't want to draw attention to it. Sora woke up while we were gone!" She ignored Kairi's gasp, sweeping on before the red-head could ask something else. "He got up and walked around and everything!"

"…There's something you're not telling me." Kairi said immediately, eyes narrowing.

"…What do you mean?" Yuffie asked innocently.

"I can pretty much tell immediately by now." Kairi retorted, still glaring at her.

"I'm not leaving TOO much out." Yuffie mumbled uncomfortably as she looked away. "It's just…he was really confused on where he was, but that's what I was expecting. I just hoped I would have been there to help, not stuck in some store. But Riku was in the room when he woke up, and I guess it freaked Sora out way too much." Kairi winced. "And then he sorta…fell down the stairs or something like that…" Yuffie mumbled. "But hey, he's awake now!"

Kairi immediately rushed forward, breaking into a sprint as she outpaced Kairi, tripping over herself in her haste down the stairs. Yuffie called out, caught off-guard by the sudden rush. But Kairi rounded the corner, pounding over for Merlin's house, not bothering to wait for Yuffie to try and catch up.

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"I'm here!" Kairi yelled, managing to rip open the door to Merlin's house, breathing heavily as she stumbled to a halt. Axel and Riku both looked up, eyes wide at the sudden appearance. Riku recovered first, leaning over and giving her a weak smile. "I guess you found out what happened, then?" He asked, voice tinged with slight bitterness as he spoke. Axel glanced over at Riku as he spoke, but didn't say anything, studying the bare Christmas tree carefully, as if contemplating its future decorations.

"Yeah, I did." Kairi puffed, dropping her bags heavier than she meant to.

Axel perked at this, turning with a grin. "So you got the stuff?" He asked, brushed past her and leaning over the shopping bag. He pulled out a handful of Christmas decorations, tinsel and bows and things of that nature. Kairi eyed the cloaked man, looking from what was in his hands up to him slowly.

"Why did you need all that stuff?" Kairi demanded, forehead creased. "Yuffie's still struggling up here with her load." She was still catching her breath as she spoke, heaving between her words. Riku looked at her, amusement shimmering in his eyes. He opened his mouth, probably to comment on her lack of strength. Kairi immediately glared at him with mock-anger, hands balling into fists. "Shut up, before you regret it." She warned, the edges of her lips tilting up in a grin.

Riku held up both hands in surrender.

"We need to decorate this place more than it is." Axel explained, rummaging around in the bag as he spoke, not even looking up. "I mean- if Sora came out here to see that this was all we did, he's gonna think we're stupid or something."

Kairi crossed her arms over her chest, giggling. "I thought you didn't care about Christmas?"

Leon walked over from where he stood by the hearth, flashing a smile at Kairi. "I think a little bit of Sora rubbed off on him." He commented, amused.

"I think a little bit of Sora rubs off on everyone he meets." Riku laughed.

At Kairi's look, Leon jerked his head back at the door. "He's upstairs. Aerith is with him. If you want to, you can send her down here. I think she was going to try and start making some of the cookies for later." Kairi blinked at this, surprised. How close was Christmas, anyway? She looked over at the wall, a small calendar taped there, marked on with what Merlin would have been doing if not for the whole incident with the Organization. Things such as 'Meet with Wizard Council' and 'Call Mother' had been scratched out with pen, basically making the entire month scarred out. They had been replaced with small notes like 'Change Bandages' and 'Check Vital Sings.'

It was December 23rd already. The date struck Kairi like a slap in the face.

Christmas was only two days away.

Turning around quickly, she opened the door wide, closing it behind her as she walked up the stairs. Peering into the room, she looked inside, recognizing Aerith even when the girl's back faced her. The girl was sitting content on the chair beside Sora's bed, green eyes trained anxiously on the boy's sleeping form. But he seemed perfectly fine. "Hey." Kairi called out softly, Aerith turning and flashing her a smile. "Um- I think Leon wants you to start the cookies." She passed on the message, tweaking it just a little bit. The girl looked surprised.

"Oh, right. I nearly forgot." Aerith grinned, pushing herself up and straightening, as if she had been sitting there for a while. "You'll sit with him then?" She asked, already walking for the steps, like she didn't need to hear Kiari's reply. She nodded though, watching as Aerith headed downstairs, closing the door softly behind her. Standing still a moment, Kairi turned over to look at Sora, blinking. Forcing herself to move closer, Kairi walked forward, coming to kneel down on his bed-side.

She reached over, resting her hand on his shoulder and shaking him gently. He didn't open his eyes, but his forehead creased, a somewhat annoyed expression coming over his face. It was more response from him than she had seen in a few days. She let out a relieved breath, smiling. Glancing over at the stairs a moment, Kairi looked back at Sora, eyeing him a moment before standing up, pulling back the covers just slightly. Leaning over, Kairi crammed herself on the space that Sora wasn't already laying on, laying down beside him on the bed.

Her blue eyes searched Sora's closed one a moment, smiling softly as she remembered how many sleepovers that she, Sora, and Riku used to have together. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment, she didn't catch the small movement beside her. "…Kairi?" A voice slurred with sleep met her ears, Kairi fighting the urge to jerk with surprise. Sora's blue eyes were halfway open, glazed slightly as he looked at her. He looked confused, like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. "…Is that really you?" He asked, voice softer than usual.

Kairi felt her heart burn painfully with some unknown emotion as she smiled. "Yes." She said, whispering almost unconsciously. "I'm here." Reaching forward, she grabbed Sora's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. "This is real." She whispered, closing her eyes as she spoke.

"M'so glad you're okay." Sora mumbled, looking like he was fighting away sleep like it were a heartless. "I thought that…" It was either he was too tired to finish his sentence, or he was too afraid to. Like if he spoke it aloud, Kairi would vanish in a puff of smoke. Kairi's smile wavered a moment, remembering the last time that Sora had seen her. Against herself, she felt a small twinge of regret that she had allowed herself to be bait for Sora. Something to use just to make him bend to the Organization's will. But she pushed it away. None of it mattered anymore.

"I'm fine." She assured him. "We're all fine. It's going to be alright from now on."

Sora seemed to give up on trying to stay awake, closing his eyes and falling asleep quicker than Kairi would have thoughts anybody could go back to bed. As soon as his eyes closed, his breathing deepened. And it occurred to her that he was never fully awake in the first place. Blinking, she looked at Sora and realized something, a slow dawning that took her breath away.

She wouldn't have been able to go on without Sora beside her.

She needed him.

And he needed her too.

Knowing that Sora wouldn't be aware of it, and wouldn't remember it, Kairi leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Sora and ducking her head. Hesitating for just a moment longer, she drew back slightly, blinking. Staring at the bandage that rested right above Sora's right eye, Kairi closed her eyes, feeling yet another pang of guilt. But she shook her head. She would help get Sora through this, that much she was certain of.

Reaching up slightly, Kairi drew Sora closer to her, planting a small, tender kiss on the boy's injured forehead.

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A/N: DA FLUFFEH IT GEEVES MEH CAVITIES….

SIMPSONS IS ONNNN AGAINNNN

Dudes. Seriously. Look at my review count. I AM ALMOST TO 500 I AM SO EXCITED YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA I WOULD BE FOREVER IN LOVE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IF YOU ALL GIVE ME 500 REVIEWS! I AM SO HAPPY!

I tried to express my happiness in this chapter.

Next chapter will be better, this one was just to get a few points across and out to you all ;3

I think that little boy is a troll, personally…


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: I think that my brain has been straining to think of a Percy Jackson fanfiction. I've been reading the series, and I'm in love with them. But I just can't see what would happen. So I'm sticking like glue to Kingdom Hearts and Soul Eater X3

So if you all still wanna see the videos, I gotta have all my friends come over and string all the videos together, because they're all on different phones. So hopefully that'll be soon. It might take the next week though, cause I gotta wait for a weekend to do it, obviously. :P

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"You're doing it wrong. It looks like you just crushed the present and left it to die." Yuffie said, looking blankly down at the rather smashed-looking wrapping job that Kairi had managed. The paper was wrinkled and in clumps really, you wouldn't even be able to guess whether it was a box underneath, a ball, or just some random blob. Kairi's cheeks were puffed out as she looked down at her work, face growing red as she did so. Yuffie started to reach over. "Here, just let me do it-"

"No! I'm going to do it!" Kairi yelped, pushing Yuffie away stubbornly.

"You're going to butcher Leon's present." Yuffie snapped, frowning slightly as she tilted her head to the side, as if trying to make sense of a piece of random artwork. Kairi studied the box in front of her, face resigned as she stared at it. She thought that she had done pretty good. She didn't really wrap presents normally, she usually brought them in bags, or had her step-mother help her. Yuffie had wrapped almost a dozen presents so far, and she had only managed this one and another one that Aerith had helped her with. Despite the gentle directions that Aerith had given her, Kairi figured that she probably didn't follow them right. As if trying to help, Yuffie added, "Well, at least everybody will know which ones you wrapped."

"Gee, thanks." Kairi grumbled in response, reaching down and thumbing on the hem of her shirt.

"Here, just let me do it. You can go see if Aerith needs any help decorating the tree." Yuffie offered, leaning over and dragging the crumpled present from Kairi, placing it in front of her and ripping off the wrapping paper carefully. Her eyes were narrowed as she did this, and Kairi wondered if she was always this strict during Christmas. But nevertheless, she figured she had done enough damage here. Pushing herself up, she walked over to the other side of the room where the tree was sitting neatly in the corner by the fire place.

Aerith, Leon, and Riku had finished making sure that the tree was sticking out in all directions in a slightly-orderly way. Aerith was busy unpacking all of the boxes filled with ornaments, Riku and Leon were talking about fighting techniques. So far, Leon looked pretty impressed with whatever Riku was telling him, nodding slowly as if deep in thought. Kairi would be the first to say that she wasn't all that good of a fighter, so she would draw to the conclusion that anything anybody told her about fighting would seem impressive.

Aerith was drawing out the first ornament, lips pursed as she looked thoughtfully over the tree, picturing where the best place for it would be. She started at the sound of Kairi's voice, turning towards the girl and giving her a small smile in turn. But Kairi seemed slightly surprised, eyeing the box that rested down on the ground by Aerith's feet. "I thought we were waiting for Sora to do that." Kairi said, nodding towards the tree.

Aerith let a small frown replace her usual smile. "Tomorrow's Christmas, Yuffie." She pointed out, glancing out the window that overlooked the small cobblestone street laying in front of the cottage. "We've waited, but we just need to do it. I'm sure that Sora wouldn't mind in the slightest." Kairi blinked, turning and surveying the large room around her. Yuffie was busy wrapping the presents in the corner (much faster now that she didn't have Kairi to pose as her roadblock), Cid was typing on the computer, under orders from Aerith as he tried to figure out how to change the background of his computer to something Christmas. So far, he was getting pretty frustrated, muttering about things that weren't important. Riku and Leon were still talking together, dressing the tree with ornaments as neatly as they could. Which wasn't all that neat, come to think of it. Axel was stringing up the decorations around the house, looking a little irritated and probably regretting offering this up in the first place. But he had made quick work of it. With the amount of supplies he had wanted, the house looked amazing. Wreaths and ribbons were strung out over the walls of the house, quite expertly done, actually. Looking at the work around the room, it was hard to believe that this was the work of a person with a first Christmas.

But her question was answered as Yuffie whispered harshly out of the corner of her mouth, not even looking up from her wrapping. "Wrong way. It's crooked that way." Axel started at her voice, looked back over his shoulder at her a moment, then turned around, face pinched with anger and frustration as he fixed the near-mess-up. Aerith caught Yuffie's eyes where the Ninja sat on the floor, the only reaction from the Ninja was to stick her tongue out at her friend, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe you want to go help Axel?" Aerith offered, smiling softly as she finally placed her ornament in the correct spot on the tree, giving a small nod as she leaned back to evaluate it. The other two men were going a lot faster than her, she would be one of the last people to finish with these Christmas-Eve preparations. Of course, considering it was today, it wasn't really preparations. It was more like cramming. But Kairi guessed that it didn't matter by now.

"Hey, Riku, do you wanna-" Her sentence was cut off as the door opened slowly, three people stepping inside the house neatly. Kairi turned, a slow smile creeping over her face as she recognized the people standing in front of the house. They were all busy looking around with surprised looks, as if they hadn't expected it to look this way by the time they got back. But it took them long enough, they should have guessed that something would have changed.

"Your Majesty!" Riku was fist to call out, leaning around Leon so that the mouse could see him.

Mickey perked, smiling at the sight of his friend. Goofy and Donald looked a little put-out at the picture of their having to be retrieved, and yet their eyes shone as they looked anxiously around the house. It was obvious they were expecting Sora to step out from behind the Christmas tree or something along the lines of that. They looked a little disappointed at the Sora-free room, and Kairi couldn't blame them. Suddenly, she realized that Riku was standing right beside her, peering close to her face and looking at her carefully. She jumped with surprise, flailing her arms in the air rather gracefully. "What!" She shouted, scooting away from him as fast she could manage.

"Nothing." Riku said, pulling back with a grin. "It's just that your face looks like a tomato."

"Does not." Kiari flashed back angrily, looking away hotly before he could say anything else.

"So what was the damage?" Cid asked, turning in his chair and tearing himself away from the computer as he looked expectantly at the King. The mouse turned, becoming distracted for a moment as he looked oddly over to the computer screen, which was flashing errors madly at Cid's back. He opened his mouth to say something about it, but the older man cut him off rudely, twitching as he grumbled underneath his breath, "I'm aware."

Aerith looked a little guilty at the man's growing agitation.

The King still hesitated a moment, looking confused. Axel paused to break the silence, cursing rather loudly as he accidentally stapled himself in the hand. "There wasn't _too _much damage." The King said finally, glancing over at Goofy and Donald, who were busy looking at each other intently, as if to blame the other. "They had gone to a few worlds already…three. It took a while to track them down, to be honest. When I found them, we had to go back and revisit the worlds…explain the situation. I think everybody was too confused to try and ask any questions."

"Where'd you go?" Yuffie asked, trying to get a stubborn strip of tape off from around her finger.

"We went to Atlantica, Beast's Castle, and Halloween town." Goofy informed her.

"We spent most the time in Beast's Castle." Mickey said, stuffing his hands into his pockets with a slightly worried look. "I was concerned for Belle and Beast, especially when we returned there. Both were very distraught, it took a while to calm them down. And then we figured that we had better stay the night anyway. That's why it took us so long." Kairi nodded to herself. Frankly, she had forgotten that they had been here at all. They'd been gone for a few days.

"Beast was always one of Sora's closer friends." Donald explained with his usual lisp. "_I _wanted to save them for last, but _Goofy _said we had to do them first." He crossed his arms (wings?) over his chest with a soured look. Obviously, he was just as disappointed as Goofy was about the fact that Sora wasn't around here to say hello. When they last saw him, he was announced dead. Naturally, a glimpse of him would have been preferred.

Mickey still looked a little worried, muttering under his breath about taking Sora over to Beast's Castle when he was better. Kairi blinked, a little lost. But then the King brightened up considerably, smiling as he surveyed the room like Kairi had done before. "So, what can we help with?" He asked, eyes landing on Axel. It was becoming apparent that that one needed more help than others. Yuffie could only mumble just a few words at a time.

"Sure, you can go ahead and help Axel, he's still got a few more decorations to put up." Aerith said, turning back to the tree after a moment. Kairi looked over at the brunette, eyes softening with amusement. Aerith had managed to give them the job without making Axel sound stupid. Which that man would have appreciated, she was sure.

After Goofy and Donald and Mickey went over to Axel, silence settled over the house for a moment, everybody working contentedly in the quiet. The crackling of the hearth filled the room, and Kairi paused a moment, blinking as she looked over at Axel. The man had finished putting up a few candles on the wall, reaching up and making these small balls of fire that looked similar to snowballs, except they were flickering with amber light. It didn't seem to burn him when he touched it, and Kairi wondered what it would feel like to have control over something like that. To do whatever you wanted with water, or rock. It seemed like a pretty useful thing that would come in handy.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door, sounding urgent. Kairi perked up, blinking with surprise. Was anybody else expecting company? But from the looks on the others, she guessed not. Against her better judgment, a twinge of fright started in her stomach, rising up to clog her throat. She shoved it away, heading over towards the noise. But Axel beat her to it, already close to the door. Reaching over, he flung it open, blinking down at the person standing in front of him.

Kairi pushed forward to peer over his shoulder, just as shocked. The boy from the store was standing in front of them, shifting his weight excitedly from foot to foot. His mother was standing beside him, holding a tray of food in her hands that was wrapped with foil. Kairi had no idea what was inside. Finally, Kairi managed to speak up, blue eyes surprised. "Akira…what are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?"

Axel glanced over at her. "You know this kid?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I met him at the store yesterday…but I don't know how he knew where I was."

"Hi, Kiari!" Akira yelped, eyes shining. "We came to give you cake!"

"…Cake?" Kairi repeated, feeling stupid.

"Fruitcake." The mother spoke up, looking down crossly at her son. Kairi wondered whether or not Akira was always this hyper. That, or they were just the lucky ones. The mother seemed to recover though, smiling sweetly as she looked back up at the two. "I figured that with what you're going through, you might not have time to celebrate Christmas, so we took the time last night to make you all this cake. I hope you'll like it. I wouldn't want anybody to spend Christmas without celebrating!"

It was a nice gesture. But when Kairi looked back at the way-too-prepared-for-Christmas-looking room, she had to hold back a smile. But still, it's the thought that counts, right? Axel wasn't so wise as to keep his mouth shut. "Going through?" He repeated, looking from the child to the mother with a weird expression. "We're not going through anything." Yuffie finally stood up, leaving her job of wrapping presents, going over to stand on Axel's other side, peering over his other shoulder. She eyed the cake with a hungry look, obviously not worried about what the mom was going on about.

Which reminded Kairi that they didn't have lunch yet.

The mother smiled kindly at Axel, shaking her head from side to side slowly. It was like she appreciated the man's optimism or something cheesy like that. "Well, nevertheless, I hope you all will have a wonderful Christmas. This cake was actually Akira's idea, he was very keen on bringing it to you today." The little boy nodded furiously at this, beaming from ear to ear. Kairi smiled down at him, not sure what to say, considering she had only just met him a day ago. But she supposed that if Sora had heard of somebody else going through a rough time, he would have ordered a truck-load of Christmas presents to give to them.

Thinking of it that way, she gave a polite smile to Akira's mother, reaching over Axel and taking the cake container, being careful not to either hit Axel in the face, or drop it. Either of the two would have been embarrassing. But she managed to pull it off, turning around and jumping yet again as Riku appeared right behind her. Leaning down to meet her eyes (he was a lot taller than her this way) he whispered harshly to her, barely even audible. "What's she doing here?" He hissed through clenched teeth, looking a little bit more than lost.

"I dunno." She whispered. "Cake is cake, go put it somewhere."

Shooing her friend away crossly, Kairi turned, getting on her toes once more to look over Axel, who looked a little bored by now. "Thanks for that." She smiled, hoping that she blocked any view inside the house. She didn't want them to see how wrong they were, they would have thought that they were greedy in taking it anyway. "I hope you have a good Christmas tomorrow too." She smiled toothily, and hoped they took it as a warning to leave.

Akira started babbling about all the stuff that Santa was going to bring him, waving his hands all around in emphasis as he talked. His mother rolled her eyes, grabbing her son by the shoulder and tugging him backwards gently, steering him away from the house. "Alright then, glad to help!" She called back, giving them a small wave before Axel shut the door behind her. For a moment, everybody just stared at one another, confused beyond words.

"That was weird." Leon muttered, looking at Yuffie oddly, who was leaning against him.

"Yeah…" Yuffie said, shrugging. "But you know…it's cake. So…"

"Cake is cake." Kairi repeated.

"Where do I put this?" Riku asked, turning full circles in a search for a storing unit.

"I got it." Aerith said quickly, taking the box from him and marching over to a cabinet.

It occurred to Kairi that there wasn't a refrigerator in this house.

…Might be a good investment.

Shaking herself, Kairi turned, heading back over to Riku, watching as the others slowly melted back into their jobs too. Everything was almost done, and it would certainly be a wonderful Christmas Eve. At least, the best that Kairi had in what seemed like a long time. And yet…it would be missing something as well. Her blue eyes flashed inadvertently over to the door that led upstairs to where Sora was.

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Merlin cursed softly as he accidentally bumped the small cup of water that was resting on the bedside table, water splashing over the edge of the furniture and landing with a plop on the ground. Thankfully, the cup wasn't glass, otherwise Merlin would have something to really worry about. But it merely bounced and rolled over on the ground, spinning away a few feet as it slid on the water. Giving a small sigh, he marched over to the new mess, stooping down to scoop up the plastic cup.

But before he could so, he started, blinking rapidly as he turned to look over at Sora. The boy's forehead was creased, even though he was not awake, he seemed to be confused about something. He was mumbling things in his sleep, fidgeting as he did so. Merlin instantly forgot about the water, straightening at once as he rushed over to Sora. The boy had to stop moving, otherwise he might reopen one of his wounds, and it could cause more infection.

Merlin hesitated right before he reached out to shake Sora awake, looking down with a small frown as he tried to hear what the boy was saying. The words were slurred, not clear enough for Merlin to make real sense of. But the pain in Sora's eyes was enough to startle the old wizard, the lingering hint of fear sprinkled through his small tone. Reaching down, Merlin put his hand softly down onto Sora's shoulder, face creased with worry as he did so.

As soon as he touched the boy, Sora jerked awake, eyes flying open almost faster than Merlin could comprehend. His blue eyes were glazed, as if he was still dreaming despite the fact that his eyes were wide open. He looked confused and frightened for a moment, and Merlin had to make sure that Sora wouldn't get up and take off. "It's alright." He said, making sure that his voice was level and calm, as to not alarm Sora any more than he already was. "You're back at Hollow Bastian with us, you are safe. We got you away from the Organization. They're all dead. Nothing will come after you anymore."

Merlin pictured what Sora's response would be if he were his usual self. A little offended at the hint of being treated like a frazzled child. "Alright, then." He would have said, turning away from Merlin so that the old wizard wouldn't be able to see his odd look (which Merlin always did anyway). "Thanks for that then, I guess." But now, this seemed to be enough for him, blinking slowly as intelligence leaked back into his sea-blue eyes, growing still once more as he looked around at his surroundings. Slowly, Merlin withdrew his hand, trusting Sora not to make any rash movements. The boy seemed to be in enough pain now to understand that if he didn't move, it wouldn't hurt as much.

"We are we?" Sora asked, pushing himself up with a pained grimace.

Merlin reached over, helping him sit upright with the face that resembled an old grandfather assisting his grandchild. "I added a new floor to my Study." The old magician explained, making sure that Sora was steady before he drew back. "It seems as though things got too busy here to just cram everybody into that one small room. I was perfectly fine with it, though." He added with a sniff. "Just made the place more cozy, if you ask me."

"…Busy?" Sora echoed, lost as he looked around the new and regrettably empty room.

"Well, you don't think that we all got to you overnight, now did we?" Merlin prompted.

"We?" Sora repeated, sounding like a parrot, the way he repeated what he heard.

"Oh yes. They're all downstairs right now. I usually stay up here to make sure that you're doing alright." Quickly, he changed the subject before Sora could get distracted and ask about all the others. "You gave us quite a shock, my boy. When you didn't come back from battling with the Heartless, we all figured that you went to make sure they were all gone." A shadow flittered over Sora's face as Merlin went on. "But days went by…we knew by that time that something was wrong."

"…Right." Sora mumbled, looking down at the blanket that was covering him loosely. His eyes were slightly haunted, but he kept talking. His voice was more sure of itself by now, like he had managed to collect himself enough to remember clearly. "I…called out for Leon. There were too many of them, I couldn't…couldn't last long." He closed his eyes as he said this, and Merlin felt a flash of sympathy. Surely the boy couldn't think that this was his fault?

"Yes, Leon and Yuffie both knew that there was something the matter before any of us caught on. They rushed after you, but they said that there was nothing there. We all searched a good three days…couldn't ever manage to find anything." Sora blinked, straightening up despite the flash of pain that lanced up his spine. His blue eyes widened a fraction as he did so. They had been looking for him? Xemnas made it sound as if…immediately he regretted ever thinking that his friends would forget about him, keep going on with their normal lives without even wondering where Sora was. The thought seemed ridiculous now.

"Goofy and Donald went from world to world searching for you, figuring that you would have gone off to escape some of the pressures from what was going on. Which would have been a good a guess as any, I suppose. They said they ran into your three friends in Agrabah, and Genie had told them how you had tried to summon him, but it failed. It was enough to ensure to us that the Organization had gotten a hold of you. And considering the way they had broken the strand between you and Genie, they were not letting you go any time soon."

Sora was startled by that. It seemed so long ago that he had tried to summon Genie for a quick way out. But suddenly, nothing else mattered as something slammed into him, nearly taking his breath away. Whirling around with more speed than he had thought he had, Sora looked at Merlin with wide, sad eyes. "Goofy and Donald!" He blustered, voice cracking from its lack of use. "Are they…did you…?" He sounded almost like he didn't want an answer to his question, and yet his blue eyes bored into Merlin with a fiery intensity.

Merlin smiled, reaching over and pushing Sora back down gently. "They're fine. We healed them before anything could get worse."

It looked as if a million-pound weight had been lifted right off of Sora's shoulders. "And Kairi?" He winced.

"She is fine as well. We got her in time too." Merlin hesitated a moment before adding. "It was just too bad we could not save you at the same time." He said, eyes sad as he took in Sora's wounded state. Sora didn't respond, staring into space with an expression of immense relief. It didn't matter what happened, what they had failed to do or anything like that. Kairi and his two best friends were safe. Merlin was still talking, Sora only jerking into attention as he heard the one name spoken. "Of course, Riku was very cross with himself for abandoning you. Which is to be expected, of course."

"Riku?" Sora asked, shock chilling him at once. "Riku's here?"

Merlin started, looking a little surprised. Hadn't Sora already seen him before? He scolded himself mentally. Of course Sora wouldn't have realized that Riku was the man he had woken up to seeing. Riku look nothing like his old self, and Sora was not here for Goofy and Donald to explain the whole process of what happened to the young lad. Not there to understand that Riku looked the way he did in order to protect the keyblade bearer. Why, without Riku, they would have been turning in circles, still trying to find a way to get Sora back. "Well, lad, it's very-"

The old wizard broke off, paling at the sound of a crash from down below, the noise rising up through the floor and echoing through the silent room around them. There was a beat of quiet before laughter melted through the floor as well, a girl's voice raising to yell: "Fail!" Quite an odd way of responding to the situation. When Merlin was a young boy (which must have been ages ago, according to most of the others), they would never have yelled something like that. A minor note, and yet the generation of today completely baffled the old man.

When he came back to the situation, Sora's mouth was set in a thin line, blue eyes slightly narrowed. "I want to do down there." He said at once, not even asking the wizard for permission. He started to turn towards the ground, trying to pull his leg forward, his face splitting with pain. Merlin reached forward, holding Sora's shoulders gently, but firmly.

"I'm afraid not, Sora." He said sternly, raising an eyebrow at the teen. The boy opened his mouth to object, but Merlin cut him off quickly. "We spent enough time making sure that your wounds are dressed properly, we don't want you running and jumping about as soon as you wake up." Sora looked disappointed beyond words, but he snapped his mouth closed. His leg was laying awkwardly on the bed next to him, halfway off of the bed in his preparations in getting up. He didn't even try to move it, or his right arm, which was in a tight sling.

In the newfound silence of the room, they both could hear the noise of laughter from down below, and looking at Sora's deflated expression, Merlin felt a flash of guilt. There wasn't enough room in here for everybody downstairs to come up here to Sora. And by the look on the boy's face, Merlin could tell that he would have rather gone down to them. He hadn't seen his friends in a long time, and when he had, they had either died in front of him, or ran off without even giving a small hello in their wake.

The guilt in Merlin's chest expanded and expanded until it was full of it. And in that moment, he knew without a doubt that he now had a soft spot for the Keybearer. "You're not going down there." He repeated, Sora looking like he would have liked to glare at the wizard. Thankfully he had more sense than most, and didn't show his reaction that clearly. Smiling gently, Merlin pushed himself up. "At least not without me helping you." He finished.

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They managed to struggle down to the last step, stopping in front of the door that led into the living room. Or what was the ONLY room before this whole ordeal started. Merlin propped Sora up against his shoulder, one arm around the boy's waist as he helped him walk, and the other reaching out to open the door. One of Sora's eyes were closed, and the other one glistened with pain, but he did not show any sign of wanting to go back at all. In fact, if Merlin didn't know Sora any better, he would have thought that there was a little guilt in the boy's eyes.

Bracing himself against the flood that was sure to be waiting for them, Merlin opened the door slowly until it was fully ajar. At first, nobody noticed them amid all the bustling and hustling that was going on around the room. Leon stood in front of the tree, looking fit to kill and way past annoyed and frazzled. He held an ornament in one hand, and with the other, he was hitting himself in the face repeatedly. Aerith was breathing down his neck, watching his every movement carefully. Every time Leon tried to hang the ornament in a specific place, Aerith would immediately snap over at him crossly, yelling at him that if he hung it there, the whole entire tree would be ruined. She wasn't even hanging up her own ornaments in her haste to make sure that Leon wasn't 'ruining' her whole work.

Axel was in the middle of chucking the stapler down onto the ground, letting out a very loud curse as he held one of his hands tightly in the other. Goofy and Donald looked at the man oddly, Goofy covering his mouth in the process. Mickey opened his mouth to say something, but got cut off as a wreath he had pinned up onto the wall fell back down, taking the King with him. Yuffie blinked, turning to look oddly at the mouse before turning back to Kairi. The red-head was sitting on Riku's shoulders, bending over and hanging onto the top of the doorway tightly. Riku was grimacing, both eyes closed underneath the weight of the girl. Kairi held a small mistletoe in her hand, and Yuffie, with both hands on her hips, was directing her where to put the small plant. "No, I said over to the side more." The girl said, a little irritably. Made one wonder how long they had been trying to do this.

"Could you hurry it up?" Riku grumbled, staggering by now.

"Right here?" Kairi asked, peering down at Yuffie quizzically.

"Get a LADDER!" Riku snapped.

"Yeah, that's perfect. Go ahead and hang it right there." Yuffie directed, giving a short nod.

Merlin frowned. It seemed as though the Christmas preparations was taking a lot more difficulty than what was really needed in the first place.

Sora's breath caught in his throat as he saw all his friends in front of him…all in front of him and all in the same place at one time. It didn't seem possible, it seemed like everything would shatter like glass if he took one step forward. A mirage of happiness that was just being shown to him from the Organization. Only the solid touch of Merlin reminded him that he was really back at Hollow Bastian. And his friends were all really safe and sound. Perfectly fine. Goofy and Donald were busy throwing Christmas decorations at one another in battle, and Kairi was hanging up Christmas decorations, not a scratch on her, it seemed. Even Axel was there, which made Sora slightly surprised. But Mickey didn't seem to have any problem with Axel, popping out of the Christmas Wreath he was surrounded in, looking up and Axel and laughing. Even the fiery Organization member managed a laugh or two with the King. Before Sora knew it, he was smiling larger than he ever had in his entire life, it felt like. His eyes burned and stung, a warm feeling kindling in his chest.

Kairi managed to staple the plant in the doorway without much difficulty. At least less difficulty than Axel seemed to have with the device. Looking down, she opened her mouth to talk to the person supporting her from below, when her eyes glanced over Sora's own. Surprised, she whipped her head back up, eyes shining with shock and another emotion as she looked at Sora, still supported mostly by Merlin. She jumped, opening her mouth to call out. But she lost her balance, pitching herself backwards and dragging the man below her down as well.

Yuffie blinked, unnerved by the sudden action. Turning, the ninja looked over in the general direction to where Kairi had looked at before. Her eyes landed on Sora, and for a moment, her expression did not change. It remained blank, showing no sort of emotion. Sora's smile wavered into an uncertain frown, blue eyes widening slightly with hurt. But then Yuffie let out a shrill yell, face splitting into a grin so huge, it stretched from ear to ear. She opened her mouth, speaking in a rush. She probably meant to say something like: "It's Sora! He's up!" But it just came out like this: "St- It's- What- Sora!" Nearly tripping over herself, Yuffie rushed forward, arms already flying out at her sides.

The others perked up at what she had said. Most of them looked confused, before they caught sight of the boy and the wizard coming into the room. Kairi sat bolt upright, not even pausing to ask the person if they were alright before dashing to her feet, jogging forward. Without even thinking first, Yuffie crashed into Sora, hugging onto him so tightly that Sora was afraid that his eyes would pop out. His arm was crushed against his chest painfully, making his gasp. Merlin let out a stern yell, and Yuffie drew back quickly, eyes wide with guilt as caught Sora before he could fall. "I'm so sorry!" She gasped, righting Sora as quickly as she could.

Sora grimaced, but before he could assure Yuffie that he was fine, she was talking.

The others were gathering around Merlin and Sora. Merlin was looking a little more than crossed at Yuffie, and he kept looking anxiously over at Sora. It was obvious that the wizard was regretting bringing him down here. Which was expected, of course. Sora was amazed that Merlin had let him down here in the first place. Yuffie looked either ready to explode from anger, or hug Sora once more. Frankly, he would have taken the latter of the two, if given the choice. But Yuffie did a mixture of the two. With both hands gripping either of Sora's shoulder, she raised her voice in a sharp yell. "You scared the living _crap _out of me, Sora!" She yelled, narrowed eyes boring into Sora's surprised ones. "You scared me half to death, no, MORE than half to death. You got everybody so worried, we thought you were dead!" Pausing a moment, Yuffie shook her head rapidly before hugging Sora once more, this time much more gentler, keeping free of his wounded arm. "And I'm so glad that you're safe." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"I told her that you'd be fine." Leon spoke up, being the first in the crowd to do so.

Yuffie drew back sharply, Sora staggering for balance as she whirled around, hands on her hips. "Don't listen to anything Leon says, Sora. He was too busy trying to make me mad to notice anything else." Merlin reached over, grabbing Sora's uninjured arm, supporting him once more. His blue eyes looked worried at Sora. The boy was looked a little overwhelmed, and Merlin knew that he didn't have enough strength yet to stay up for long. But Sora held out stubbornly, refusing to look over at Merlin.

"Trying implies that I didn't succeed." Leon replied teasingly. "I'm pretty sure that I succeeded."

Sora blinked, eyes straying over to the edge of the crowd. Axel was standing there, away from the group of people. His green eyes were…sad as he stared at Sora. His shoulders were slumped down, and his whole posture seemed to deflate. He was a lot more sad than he had before Sora had come out of the room. And standing beside him was the man that Sora had seen before. …Ansem. It sent a chill down Sora's spine, and before he knew it, he was backing up little by little. The person frowned, looking almost a little hurt by the reaction.

Kairi pushed herself forward, getting in front of Yuffie without even glancing back at her friend. Yuffie seemed to get what was going on, stepping back and standing beside Leon. For a moment, Kairi and him locked eyes, and Sora blinked, trying to find words to say to her. Words that would describe his guilt that was dragging him down like a thousand pounds. The guilt that she nearly died because of him. The way that he had felt, as if two people took hold of his heart and twisted it so much that it broke apart, shattering all over the room. But there were no words, and even if there were, Sora didn't think that he would have the voice to speak them out.

But Kairi seemed to understand, eyes brimming with emotion. And when she opened her mouth, he expected her to say something about how she forgave him. But it caught him off-guard when she said: "That's Riku, Sora." It was a whisper, but it might as well have been a yell by the look that Sora gave her. He looked at her like she had just morphed into a fruit without any explanation or warning. Hesitantly, he looked from the man to Kairi, utterly confused. That couldn't be Riku…right? It didn't look like him at all! Well…Riku was bound to look different, considering it had been so long since they had seen one another…but this was stretching it!

Kairi was waiting for him to say something, but he never got the chance. Goofy and Donald pushed forward through the throng of friends, staring at him with wide smiles on their faces. Looking at them made Sora forget everything else. And before Sora could even try to stop himself, he was crying. He was crying in front of each and every one of his friends, and he wasn't giving any other thought to it. Something about seeing them all made Sora snap again.

He could see the faint wounds that were recovering on his friends. He could see a new scar on Leon's arm. He could see a scratch on Goofy's face, and a rather large bruise on Donald's. Yuffie bore her own injury, and even Cid did as well. Goofy and Donald had nearly died forever because of Sora. They all put themselves in danger for him, and somehow he felt like he didn't deserve it. So he stood there crying, shoulders shaking so hard that he lost his balance and had to scramble painfully to find his footing once more.

Donald let out a small, sad noise, rushing forward and hugging Sora tightly, eyes closing as he did so. Goofy marched forward as well, eyes saddened at the sight of his best friend a wreck like this. Kairi had a small frown on her face, rubbing her arms as if she were cold. It was like she knew that Sora was sad about her, and yet she didn't know what to do exactly. Leon winced, speaking up, to everybody else's surprise. It wasn't like Leon was heartless, it was just that he wasn't always considered the most sympathetic of the group. "Hey, Sora, don't beat yourself up." He said, tone as gentle as Leon could make it. "It's alright, it's all over now, right?"

It was a few moments before Sora responded, still not looking up from the ground. Merlin had let go of him, trusting Goofy and Donald to help keep their friend standing. For now, he merely hovered over the group anxiously, looking at Sora with a worried expression. "I'm sorry." Sora managed thickly after a moment. "I'm sorry for worrying everybody…putting you all in danger…it's all my fault. I didn't meant to…to-" He didn't finish his words.

Mickey was the one to talk this time, eyes narrowed with pure hatred. "It's not your fault, Sora." The King said smoothly, or as smooth as he could make it with the anger he was choking back. "It's the Organization's fault. It's Maleficent's fault as well. Both of them are dead, we all made sure of that." Then, his expression softened, tone becoming quieter as he looked at Sora. "You don't have to feel bad, Sora. None of this is your fault. You should never even try and think of it that way."

Sora didn't reply, looking miserably down at the ground.

Yuffie spoke after a while, bracing and upbeat. "Sora, have you seen our decorations yet?" She demanded, doing a little twirl as she turned to take in the room's Christmas-y atmosphere. "It took a while, but we are ready for tonight! It's Christmas Eve, you know! Tomorrow will be Christmas, and we'll make it the most _amazing _holiday experience of your life!"

Leon glanced over at her, speaking through his teeth. "Now might not be the best time." He hissed.

Yuffie's eyes flashed. "We need to focus on something other than what happened to him. Obviously he doesn't want to talk about it, and until he can, we have to make it seem at least a little normal." Her words came in a harsh whisper, but she might as well have been yelling at Leon. Her words seemed to slap him in the face. Both because of their ferocity, and because of the truth behind the words. It was Sora's first time awake in…weeks? They shouldn't be upsetting him like this in bringing up everything that happened.

Aerith stiffened, eyes widening. "The cookies!" She gasped, turning and weaving through the crowd. "I was supposed to pick the cookies up from the Bakery ten minutes ago!" She yelled, tearing through the door in her rush. Yuffie blinked, turning and raising an eyebrow at the back of Aerith as her friend slammed the door behind her. How many cookies did they need? They were all going to have so many cookies, they would have to roll wherever they wanted to go. They sure as heck wouldn't be able to walk anymore.

Merlin cleared his throat imploringly, everybody turning to look at him expectantly. "You should all keep going along with your preparations." Merlin announced, glancing over at the clock on the wall. "It's about two right now, we should all be done in maybe an hour. Go on, get to work." The words were different, but their meaning was clear enough to everybody. "You should all leave Sora alone for a while. Don't bother him."

Which was good enough it seemed. The others melted back into whatever they were doing before. Yuffie walked over to Riku and Kairi, leaning over and murmuring softly over to them. "We have one more mistletoe." She announced, drawing the small box out of her pocket and bringing out the small plant. "We have to decide where to hang it." Kairi and Riku glanced at one another. It was obvious that they would rather have tried to stay with Sora. But Merlin didn't like to be questioned. Mostly because he was right. So they all turned, heading back around to hunt out the perfect spot for the bush.

Goofy spoke up, a little awkwardly. "Do ya wanna go back upstairs?" He asked gently.

Sora blinked, wiping his eyes roughly with the back of his good arm. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately shut it. Axel had turned, going outside. He wasn't back at what he was doing before. Remembering the guilty look that he had been showing when Sora last saw him, the boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "Help me go after Axel." He said flatly, trying to get his voice under control. Goofy and Donald looked a little surprised, looking over for Merlin. But the Wizard was too busy at the other side of the room, opening the medicine drawer and examining its contents carefully. Exchanging a nervous glance, they both did as their friend asked.

Making slow progress towards the door, Goofy and Donald expected somebody to try and stop them. But nobody did. They all looked over at them, a few watching their every step. But none tried to get the three to stop. Sora seemed to have forgotten his recent guilt for a moment. His eyes were narrowed in confusion, and when they got outside and closed the door behind him, he immediately called out to Axel. The Organization member was a ways away from the house, ready to round the corner. "Axel!" Sora called out, leaning heavily against Goofy, who helped him stand upright.

The red-head started, stopping in his tracks and turning over to look at Sora. For a moment, neither spoke, blue and green clashing as a million memories seemed to build a bridge between them. Sora's eyes were still a little red and puffy, but now they seemed to hold what the Keybearer had been before. Intelligent, concerned, and maybe…you could say…a little wise. "Where are you off to?" He asked, glancing over the way Axel had been trying to go.

The Organization member winced. But he answered, all the same. "I dunno." He admitted.

"You aren't seriously thinking of leaving, are you?" Sora demanded, blinking.

Axel was silent.

"So…you just don't think I'm worth it?" Sora questioned, voice riddled with hurt. "I'm not worth staying around with now that I'm not in danger of dying?" His voice sharpened somewhat at the last word, Goofy wincing. Donald shuffled his feet, looking at Sora with concern and worry. Enough of it to match Merlin's. "You're leaving…without saying goodbye?" Sora asked, quieter.

"I can't stick around." Axel managed, green eyes blank. "This is your life. Not mine." He turned, ready to keep on walking the way he had come. But Sora wasn't about to give up that easily.

"It _can_ be your life." He pressed, blue eyes weighted down with grief as he stared anxiously at Axel. The red-haired fire-wielder didn't reply, merely shaking his head slowly as he looked at the ground. "I saw you before you saw me." Sora said, refusing to give up. "You looked…happy. A lot happier than I've seen you in a long time. What made you change your mind so quickly?"

Axel exploded, eyes narrowing with anger. "What made you waste your last potion on me!" He demanded loudly. Sora flinched, head pounding from the sudden volume. His knees were shaking by now, he knew that if he didn't sit down soon, he would buckle over and pass out right then and there. Goofy tightened his hold on his friend, looking over at him with worry shining clear in his eyes. Donald was glaring hotly at Axel. But Sora shook his head a little, muttering something like: "Hold on."

Images of that night crammed themselves into Sora's head, and he grimaced. Xaldin's leering gaze, a jolt of white-hot pain streaming up his arm, Axel's blurred, worried face. They all rushed by in less than a moment. But Sora staggered, trying to shut it all out. When he finally managed to get a hold of himself once more, he spoke up, voice a little higher than usual. "I thought you knew that by now." Sora said. "I did it because you're my friend. I would never have been able to take the potion for myself and leave you there dying."

"Yes you could have." Axel snapped back, turning his back on the boy. "I didn't deserve anything like that. Without me, you would have been able to take the potion and gone to your friends. You would have been fine, and this whole ordeal could have been avoided."

Sora felt anger rise up in his face. "Without you?" He echoed. "Axel, without you, I would still be in that stupid castle! Heck, I would be _dead _by now without you! You were the one to help get me out of that place! It doesn't matter what happened before, during, or after. You were my friend when I had none, and you were special enough to me that I knew I could trust you to use the gift of the potion wisely. Not just leave and go into hiding. I thought you were above that." He paused, looking him up and down. "Are you going to prove me wrong? Is that what you're trying to do?"

"Sora…it was nice. I'll admit that." Axel mumbled, looking past Sora and over to the house, which had gotten strangely quiet. "But, just say it. I'm a Nobody, just like Roxas. I don't belong anywhere…at least, not permanently. The only place for me was the Organization."

"You know you weren't anything like those people." Sora said frostily.

"But at least they understood. Nobody here does. I knew I would have to leave eventually. And now that I know you'll be alright, it's time for me to move on. And who knows? Maybe I'll see you again someday. But just not here." And then he started to walk away.

Sora closed his eyes, shaking by now with the effort of standing upright. Donald spoke up, voice cold as he glowered at Axel's retreating form. "Let's go back inside, Sora." He said gently, looking over at Sora's leg, which was threatening to give away. "I'm sure that Merlin will start to get mad if we stay out here any longer…and you really should rest some more…" He trailed off, twitching angrily as he realized that Sora wasn't listening to him at all.

"You're wrong, Axel!" Sora yelled as loud as he could, trembling with the effort. Axel stopped short, turning and fixed a half-annoyed, half-curious look on the boy. His blue eyes burned with fire as he looked fiercely at Axel, looking like he always did in his prime before dashing into battle. "You said you were 'just a Nobody.'" Sora repeated his words. "You're wrong. And you're wrong about Roxas too. Roxas may be a Nobody. But he's _my _Nobody. And you're my friend. I've told you this before, Axel. It doesn't matter that you don't have a heart. What matters is that you have people like me, who care about you and want you to stay here. With us."

Axel blinked, looking more unsure now, than anything else.

Sora took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "I guess I can't make you stay." He muttered, hanging his head so that his brown spikes hung over his eyes. "But just know that after everything that's happened…I don't regret anything I did. And I hope you don't regret it either." He glanced over at Goofy, and his friend obliged. Donald and Goofy helped turn Sora around slowly, the boy staggering and slipping with his bad leg. Eventually, he just gave up, hopping unsteadily on his good leg, dragging his lame leg behind him painfully.

Finally, they got back inside the house, Sora leaning heavily against the wall, trying to steady his breathing as he closed his eyes. Goofy and Donald took a few small steps away, watching him carefully. Merlin perked up from the other side of the room, immediately letting out a strict exclamation, something about disappearing. But Sora wasn't paying attention. He looked over through the window that looked out to the front of the house. Axel stood there quietly, staring right over at him, their eyes locking together. But then he turned, walking away and vanishing around the corner.

It felt like somebody had just punched him in the stomach. Sora looked down at the ground, hissing with a sudden feeling of pain. He caught sight of…'Riku' staring at him from the corner of the room. Sora raised his eyes slightly to meet his, not saying anything. The teen made a move to walk over to him, but Sora turned away pointedly, refusing to look at him. A hand rested lightly on his shoulder, and Sora's head snapped around, thinking that it was him. But Kairi stood there, a comforting aura seeming to radiate off of her. She gave Sora a small smile, despite the pain that was riddled inside of Sora's face. "It'll be okay." She promised him, breaking the trance of silence that the house had fallen into. "It'll all be better now, I know that."

Then she drew forward and wrapped her arms around Sora's waist, hugging him tightly. And Sora didn't draw away.

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A/N: SJHEgkBGe3jkTGEDHGJEdgnEkye' WHY MUST I DRINK SODA AND THEN CHOOSE TO START TYPING!? DANGIT. THIS IS LIKE…THIRTEEN PAGES WITH SIZE TEN FONT. I JUST COULDN'T STOP….IT TOOK OVER!

Sorry for the reallllly long lack of updates. My sister hogs the computer, I got homework every night, tests all over the place I gotta study for, marching band, and all that fun new jazz. But this super duper long chapter should make up for it. At least, I think so. (I also spent my free time reading Percy Jackson, so there's that ;^;)

This story is almost over! Last night I just found an awesome way to end the story. And hopefully you all will love it as much as I think I will enjoy typing it. You know what I've worked hard enough for, though? 500 reviews? Pwetty Pwease? :3


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: I was watching the Spongebob episode where he's in Squidward's art class. This is how I thought of it:

Axel: I'll help get you out of here, I promise.

Sora: Wow…really? :O

Axel: Really! : )

Sora: Really? :D

Axel: Really. :/

Sora: Really? :DD

Axel: REALLY. -.-

Annnnd scene. :3

And I get that I spelled Kairi's name wrong, alright? You don't have to keep leaving reviews yelling ay me about it. I just gotta find time to go back and fix it, which is going to be difficult, considering I'm packed with marching band and homework. Just…I know, alright? : )

WE MADE IT TO 500 REVIEWS! :D

He must have fallen asleep. Which, of course, wasn't something that he was going to complain about. He was ready to fall over, standing in a form that resembled the way that dry erase markers start to droop after you've stacked way too many together trying to make a sword. As soon as he was pushed down to the couch, his eyes closed in a blink, and didn't open again. His eyelids had been weighted down with lead, it was like he just blinked and was asleep instantly. And when he opened his eyes again, he wasn't back in Merlin's house.

He was in a room that seemed familiar, like he should have known where he was. The place was on the tip of his tongue, he felt like he should know the blue wallpaper on the walls, the mussed-up bed over in the corner. He turned, blinking slowly as he found himself facing a large mirror, staring at his own reflection with a blank look. Then, it hit him, and he wondered how he could have ever forgotten what this place was, no matter where and what he had done before. It was his room, back at his house.

It was exactly like he remembered leaving it, though by now he figured that it had to have at least changed a little bit. His clothes -which were much too small for him now- were scattered around the room here and there, in no real order. The small boat he had made in art class in school was still strung out from the ceiling, the little dolls of him and Kairi -also from art class, mind you- leaning nearly over the side. His bed was unmade, the covers tossed radically over to the side after he had thrown them off in his rush to get out the window. The memory of that night lingered in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away, turning back to look into the mirror.

Was this real? How did he get here? No matter the questions going through his mind, Sora knew deep down that it was just a dream. Just a memory weaving itself through Sora's sleeping head. And yet the tug of homesickness made Sora's chest ache with sadness. How long had he been gone? He couldn't even remember. One year? Two? More? The thought of his room still the way he had left it…unchanged…untouched…had he changed at all? Was he different than the boy that left the island a long time ago?

He felt like he had. For the better, hopefully. Staying the same with everything going on around him…it seemed close to impossible. It was impossible. …Were his parents the same? Had they missed him? Were they still looking for him after all this time? Or had they given up on him? Call him crazy…maybe even a little mean, but he had never thought about his parents until now. At least, not in this depth. Before now, he had been fueled by all the responsibility of everything he was supposed to do.

When he wasn't worrying about using the right moves and strategies for a battle he was fighting, he was worrying about everything going on in the other worlds. Whether or not Beast would be okay, whether or not they would be able to get back to Jack in time before anything else bad happened. With his thoughts so crowded…he never stopped to think what happened back at home. Not just to his parents, either. Kairi's and Riku's as well. The thought startled him, catching him off-guard.

A sudden voice sounded behind him, cold and a little condescending. "Such _saddening _thoughts, for somebody that is supposed to be overly-cheerful." Scorn edged the ending of the words, Sora's eyes widening a fraction. He knew that voice. Whipping around quickly, Sora opened his mouth, ready to call out, but stopped himself short. There was nobody else in the room. The only thing behind him was the few outfits of clothes, rumpled and abandoned where they lay.

Blinking rapidly, Sora turned back over to the mirror, freezing at once. In the mirror, standing where nothing had been merely seconds before, was Xemnas. The tall man sneered mockingly at Sora, yellow eyes glinting with a chilly sense of humor. Sora was tempted to turn back around to check if he had somehow just appeared instantly in that spot, just standing behind him. But he knew for a fact that if he turned, nothing would be there.

His jaw lock backwards angrily, and he shoved down the wave of fear was that tingling in the bottom of his stomach. He spoke first, before Xemnas could get anywhere farther in his words. "You're dead." He snapped, trying not to show the hesitance in his voice or tone. "You're nothing except a memory, get out of my head." His eyes flashed as he spoke, and he hoped that he looked a lot more braver than he felt. His mind shrieked back at him urgently. _Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! _

Xemnas laughed harshly, not even seeming to be bothered by Sora's accusation. "I'm only as dead as you think I am." He said, yellow eyes clashing with Sora's blue ones through the mirror. "Seems like you might have a little sense of…doubt?" Sora winced ever so slightly at the words, but it was enough for Xemnas to catch. "Hmm…very interesting. Very interesting indeed." A cold wind seemed to wash over Sora, and then Xemnas was standing right behind him, close enough for Sora to accidentally touch with his hand. The man leaned down close to Sora's ear, goose bumps springing up through Sora's skin as the room's temperature sudden dropped a million degrees. "Maybe you don't trust your friends as much as you have them believe." Xemnas hissed.

Sora closed his eyes tightly, his arms flying backwards in an effort to push Xemnas away. But his hands went through nothing. And when he opened his eyes once more, Xemnas was still standing right behind him, completely unaffected. "I trust my friends." Sora said through clenched teeth. _Wake up. Wake up, come on, you can do it._ "And even if you are still alive, it wont matter at all. It just means that I'll be able to deal with you myself, and make sure that you regret everything you did to me."

Xemnas only chuckled at this. "Really?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at the boy. His voice seemed to push every single painful memory into Sora's head. Dodging through the heartless, their strikes ripping gashes into his sides. Xemnas's sword striking him over and over relentlessly. Xaldin's spear digging deep in his skin. They all rushed into him at once, nearly making him fall over. Xemnas went on, almost as if he were unaware of Sora's reaction. "You really think that you would be a match for me? You were hardly much to even worry about when you were stronger."

Sora grinded his teeth together, but refused to say anything.

"But would it even be worth it?" Xemnas asked in a harsh whisper, eyes narrowing into angered slits. "You've been in the shadows of the darkness, you've seen the truth about your friends. They were so quick to leave you, so quick to abandon you to just save their own skin. Despite the words you've said, I know different." If it was even possible, he got even closer to Sora, the boy stiffening like a board. A slight pressure started in his neck, and Sora could have sworn he felt Xemnas's fingers curl around the collar of his shirt, bringing him closer.

The boy jerked, trying to get away. But his feet were rooted to the ground, he couldn't have moved even if he could possibly have wanted it more. "That wasn't real." He managed to spit out, eyes blazing with anger and suppressed fear. "Roxas told me that, I should have paid more attention to it in the first place. I was wrong to have thought that it was real. My friends would never do anything like that, and they've proved it a million times over."

Xemnas scowled. "And how long will it last?" He prompted. "A worthless keybearer on their hands…unable to even fight his own battles without some sort of help." Sora twitched at this, but failed to reply. Failed to stick up for himself. "You managed to get captured by the Organization twice in a row, is that something that helps you become the best keyblade bearer of all time? Your two friends, they know that you were too incompetent to even attempt to conserve their lives! How are they expected to protect somebody who can't even protect themse-"

"Shut up!" Sora yelled, hands balling into tight fists, digging his fingernails into the palms of his hands. He ducked his head close to his chest, the only movement that he seemed able to do right about now. He shut his eyes tight, grinding his teeth together anxiously. _It's not real, just calm down! Wake UP, you idiot! Just wake up! _But no matter how much he tried to get his eyes to open somehow, it wouldn't work. How long had he been asleep? You would think that somebody would have woken him up by now! It felt like he had gone to sleep a lifetime ago.

"Somebody like you should have given up a long time ago." Xemnas said cruelly, lip curling with disdain. Like an odd kind of drawing, Sora opened his eyes slowly, eyes being drawn over to the mirror. He straightened for a moment as he realized that his reflection had disappeared, a clean sheet of glass just showing back at him. But then another image took place in the other side, Sora momentarily forgetting about Xemnas as he stared at the thing in disbelief.

Images streamed by, almost going too fast for Sora to understand them. But he watched every single one, seeing them all despite the speed they went by. They were each of his friends, and yet there was something different about each one. They weren't like them at all. Yuffie and Leon were standing together in what looked like a train station, hand-in-hand with suitcases gathered around their feet. It was obvious they were leaving. The King disappeared in a black portal, hood drawn up as he melted into the blackness. The cottage of Merlin's house was barren, the Christmas decorations all gone, either ripped away from the scene, or they were simply never there. Kairi and Riku sat close together, fingers intertwined with the other's as they exchanged shy smiles. Goofy and Donald flanked Riku on either side, the trio walking away with Riku's keyblade glinting in the sunlight. In the background of the last image, Sora could see himself, blue eyes shaded with a life-long worth of sadness and regret, watching his two friends leave him behind silently. He didn't even try to call them back.

"It will all be for nothing." Xemnas hissed into the now-shocked Sora's face. The last image burned itself on the mirror, refusing to go away. The boy's hand trembled at his side as he looked into the image, looking like he was about to be swallowed by it. Xemnas's voice bent the truth, making the world turn upside-down in the sense of things. Confusion crowded his thoughts, and for a sickening moment, Sora felt like he was going to collapse. He felt like he was just as weighted down with injuries as he was in the waking world. And yet this was a whole different kind of pain.

Suddenly, Sora couldn't hold it back anymore. With a shrill scream of anger, Sora reached his arm back, hand balling into a tight fist. Before Xemnas could even say anything, Sora threw himself forward, fists making a connection with the mirror only for a heartbeat before the whole thing shattered into a million pieces. Glass fell down like rain, and Sora leaned forward, holding onto the wall for some kind of support as he tried to catch his breath. His hand didn't bear any marks from the glass, didn't even hurt. But his chest was aching with pain as the images flashed behind his eyelids. Of course they weren't true. But it was exactly like a nightmare during your sleep. Even if you knew it was impossible for a giant spider to crawl out from the toilet and rip your face off, that didn't make it feel any better. It didn't keep you from eyeing your toilet cautiously for the whole of the next day.

"You fool." Xemnas rasped, glowering down at the boy like he was a hair in his food. "It wont fix anything. You might not believe me now, but you'll wish that you had later on. You were destined to be nothing, you were destined to be worthless! Just retreat back into the shadows, where you belong! Nothing is here for you in the waking world!" He was advancing towards Sora quickly, murder in his eyes. Sora flattened himself against the wall almost unconsciously, mind going a mile-a-minute as he tried to think out how he was going to fight against Xemnas.

The man raised his hand, sword already drawn. He swung it down in an arc, straight down for Sora's head. It would be too late, even if the boy did try to move. Taking in a sharp breath of air, Sora screwed his eyes shut tight, bracing himself for the oncoming blow. Red flashed behind his eyelids, and he could picture the shining sword nearly on top of him now. But suddenly a voice rang inside his head, much louder than the voice he had been trying to use in the first place. _Sora! Wake up! _It said, much too gentle in the situation that he was in.

He expected himself to ignore it like he had been doing before now. But suddenly, he gasped, eyes flying wide open. For a moment, panic fluttered in his chest, unsure of where he was or what was going on. But then he pushed down the fear, steeling himself once more as it slammed into him. He was back in Merlin's house on the couch where he had fallen asleep. The Christmas decorations had been finished, it seemed. Ribbons and wreaths were strung artfully along the wall, candles lit here and there. The Christmas tree in the corner was done full-out with ornaments and bows, the star already on the tip of the fir's point. There was a neat rug underneath the tree, Yuffie and Aerith crouched down on their knees as they carefully pushed the presents for tomorrow underneath it.

The whole house was almost silent, except for a few whispers, and Sora realized with a pang of guilt that it was probably because he had been asleep before now. He tried to put his hands down on the couch to push himself up, but immediately flinched as pain lanced up his right arm. He'd forgotten about his injuries, in his dream, it seemed like he had none. Hissing under his breath, Sora used his left arm to push himself into a sitting position, blinking the sleep out of his eyes blearily. He managed to swivel over so that his feet were back on the ground.

It was only then that he wondered who woke him up. Sora looked back over to Yuffie and Aerith questioningly, but they didn't show any signs that they even knew he was awake. Sora turned to the other side, and fought not to jump ten feet into the air. Riku was standing over to the side waiting for him, Mickey standing right beside him as well. He hoped that Riku hadn't noticed his reaction, but it was hard to tell with the look his friend was giving him. …He was his friend, right?

"Sorry to wake you up." Riku said, looking a little guilty. "But if we don't leave now, it might be too late to try and get there." Sora's head reeled. Even his voice sounded different! Cautiously, he glanced out the door, startled. The sun was already going down! Didn't Merlin say something about it being 2:00 when he went to sleep? How could anybody be tired when he just spent weeks sleeping? And still, he felt weighted down, like he couldn't will himself to do anything else but lie back down and fall asleep again.

"Where are we going?" He asked, feeling a little stupid.

"We're going to another world." Riku clarified, Mickey glancing up at him. "I think you'll like it."

Sora blinked, fazed. He didn't want to go anywhere alone with him. The thought was enough to make him feel guilty, but it was true. He would rather have stayed here, with all his other friends. It was obvious that his eyes showed what he was feeling, because Mickey awkwardly stepped between the two, glancing from one boy to the other. "…Goofy, Donald, and I will come too, right Riku?" He prompted, glancing over at Sora from the corner of his eye as he spoke. "I think they'll want to make sure that they stick with Sora. They've missed him a lot."

Riku blinked, obviously getting the message. He looked a little hurt. But he just shrugging, giving the King a nod. Mickey smiled with relief, turning around and heading over to call the two of them together. Following the mouse, Sora saw that Goofy and Donald were busy having a war with all the unused decorations, throwing them back and forth to one another as they tried to duck and dodge. Sora let a small smile form over his face. They would never leave him for Riku ever again. They knew their mistake once before, and Sora had forgiven them for it. They were meant to be each other's help, just like pieces of a puzzle that had to fit together with one single other perfectly or not at all.

Funny, how he had to repeat the words over and over in his head as they walked over.

"Sora!" Goofy cried out, smiling crookedly over at his friend. He looked like he was feeling a mix of relief, and overall happiness. Donald just smiled up at Sora, making himself clear. Though he might not have wanted to admit it out loud, he was just as worried, scared, and frightened as much as Goofy was about this whole situation. He mad a mental note in his head to remember that for later fights that he would certainly get into with the duck. No chance that he would loose that fight. After a beat of silence, Goofy spoke up again. "So…when are we gonna go?" He asked.

"I wanna know where we're going." Donald said. "It's too late to go anywhere." He tried not to make it obvious he was looking as Sora when he spoke, but Sora caught the look anyway. The meaning seemed to be clear to everybody else too. "Sora can't go anywhere right now, are you guys stupid or something?" Which of course only made Sora want to go even more. But at least that was something that hadn't changed about him.

"Help get me up." Sora said, reaching his left hand out for somebody to take. Riku was the one to reach out, something that made Sora quiet at once. But he accepted Riku's help without complaint, not being that mean as to complain openly. He just thought it was a little weird. And after everything that had happened with the Organization…it just made this whole thing worse. Stiffening himself, he leaned over on Riku, limping along with the boy's help. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all filed out behind them, accepting the slow pace without a word. People in the house waved at them as they went out the door, they must have known where they were going. At least some people did, Sora thought against himself.

Kairi opened the door for them, standing outside as she rubbed her arms for warmth. Sora caught her eye for a brief moment, and they held each other's gaze. There was something different, Sora thought to himself as he stared at her. Something changed about her. But he didn't get to think about it before she turned and went back inside, waving to the group with a smile as she did so. Was she mad? Sora thought wildly. Was she mad about what happened? She didn't seem happy to see him when he first went downstairs! …Or was she? He couldn't remember. All she said was something about Riku. The image that he had seen of the two in the mirror shoved its way into his thoughts, and he flinched away from it.

"You okay?" Riku asked, looking down in concern at the keyblade bearer.

Sora looked away, glaring at the ground. "Fine." He grumbled under his breath.

Why should he care, anyway? Riku and Kairi were both his friends, it didn't matter if they liked each other, right? And in that moment, walking slowly through Hollow Bastian, near the Town Square -that was probably still burned- Sora realized why he had reacted in such a way. Why he had done so much for Kairi before, why he had gone in so much lengths to save her. Kairi was special, he knew that now. She was more than just a friend, in the way he thought about her. He looked up at Riku, mouth set in a small little frown. And that just made the memory of the dream even worse.

It was terrible in getting into the Gummi Ship. It took them probably a whole five minutes to get everybody in. And then when they took off, Sora was unprepared, nearly falling out of his seat and skidding away on the floor of the ship. Goofy caught him at the last minute, grabbing his bad arm in an effort to keep him seated. Sora's eyes widened a fraction, the boy letting out a sound like a mouse would if you stepped on it. Goofy immediately snatched his hand back, as if burned. But Sora had regained his spot, wincing as he held his injured arm close to his chest.

"Sorry!" Goofy yelped, eyes wide.

"S'fine!" Sora gasped shrilly, voice a million times higher.

That pretty much stopped conversations all together. If there were any to begin with, of course. It was mostly just comments about useless stuff like the weather. For the rest of the trip, Goofy and Donald stared at Sora worriedly, Riku and Mickey pausing in their mutters together to glance back at him. Honestly, it was like they were waiting for him to spontaneously combust, or something along the lines. He tried not to stare back at them, looking down at the ground instead as he tried to forget his dream.

It was like a cobweb stuck firmly in his brain, stubbornly refusing to get out of his thoughts. Xemnas had seemed so real, everything that Sora had seen seemed real. He closed his eyes, leaning against the wall of the Gummi Ship tiredly. He tried to imagine himself shoving each and every thought out of his mind, but all that did was have him remember everything about that last night before he was in the darkness with Roxas. And it also made him remember Axel, tearing a hole in the boy's heart. He missed him. It was as simple as that.

He wanted him back.

But he had no idea where he was.

He would never see him again.

…He would never be able to thank him for saving his life so many times over.

Before he knew it, the Gummi Ship landed neatly on solid ground, with little to no sound accompanying it. It took a moment for Sora to force his eyes open again, realizing with a start that he had nearly fallen asleep again. Fear of another dream occurring got Sora to perk up faster than normal, the boy pushing himself upright. There was an indention mark from the Gummi Ship's wall on his cheek from being there so long, and he immediately raised his hand, rubbing it away sourly. Looking out the window for the first time, Sora stiffened like a board, going absolutely still as his hand flopped back down to the seat. "I'm not getting out." He said flatly, before anybody else could speak.

The empty courtyard of Beast's Castle was outside, silent and still. It was covered with a thick blanket of snow by now, the white crystals shimmering in the moonlight. The castle looked dark and looming now, and it made Sora's stomach twist into knots. He did not move from his seat when the others stood, and when they all turned to look back at him, Sora returned their stares with a flinty glare. "Sora, it'll be okay, come on." Mickey said anxiously, looking a little worried by Sora's look. "Let's just go inside the castle, it's Christmas Eve."

"And that's an excuse for me to go in there?" Sora demanded, voice cracking somewhat.

"Please, Sora." Donald said sadly, locking gazes with the keyblade bearer.

Sora's shoulders slumped slowly, blue eyes traveling over to rest on the castle. Regret and sadness mingled together in the boy's eyes, and before he could give himself another second to think about it, he reluctantly pushed himself up to his feet. Staggering slightly, Sora turned, taking Goofy's help this time as he leaned against his friend gratefully. It was either his leg was even worse than he thought, or it had managed to go numb from the lack of movement. Something that Sora used to call: "Falling Asleep" when he was younger. Nevertheless, it was even more useless than before. It seemed like nothing was going Sora's way today. Something that irritated him enough to make him scowl.

Getting out of the Gummi Ship and making their way up to the castle, the group was just as quiet as they were in the Gummi Ship. Looking over towards the King, Sora saw with irritation that the mouse was trying not to smile. Against all better judgment against his friend, he thought angrily to himself, unable to keep himself from doing so. "What's his problem?" Sora growled in his head, glowering down at the ground.

Riku opened the doors, which were surprisingly open. The castle seemed empty when they first came inside, their footsteps echoing strangely off the walls of the large building. Sora blinked, remembering the last time he had been here with a pang of guilt. He couldn't stop thinking about the ordeal, but he had to stop. Fresh panic was welling up inside him, like he expected to have an Organization member leap out from behind one of the pillars randomly and attack. Against himself, he held onto Goofy a little tight, locking his jaw back as he hoped Goofy didn't feel him shaking.

"HELLO!" Mickey called into the castle, his high voice reverberating back to them. As the echo died away slowly, Sora glanced back over his shoulder, to the door. He wondered if he still had time to get out of here. Whether or not he could beat the others to the Gummi Ship. He doubted he would, so he forced himself to stay still, which took a lot more energy than he thought it would. For a long time, they just stood there, doing nothing except look at one another silently. Sora began to itch to get out of the haunting castle and back to Merlin's house, where everything seemed a lot better right now.

But then footsteps sounded above them, and then from the top of the stairs, a familiar person appeared. Belle blinked, looking over the group with a small, cautious smile. But when her eyes landed on Sora, who was standing at the end of the line, her eyes widened considerably. Her hand went up to cover her mouth as she locked eyes with him, and Sora froze altogether. From behind her, Beast walked out of the hall as well, looking at Belle with a small trace of fear. But when he turned to follow her gaze, he went still as well.

"We figured that since we were in the neighborhood, we'd drop on by." Mickey said, hands in his pockets.

At least now Sora knew why he'd been smiling before.

Exchanging glances, Beast and Belle slowly turned, going down the stairs and walking forward until they were a few feet away from the group. They weren't looking at anybody else but Sora, their eyes trained intently on his own. Sora blinked, not moving from Goofy's side. Voices rushed past his head in a blur. "We'll kill her if you don't tell us." "He's in Hollow Bastian!" "Belle! You said you wouldn't kill her!" "Some friends, huh, Sora? So quick to betray you."

"Sora…" Beast started. But then he stopped, looking a little lost. Like he didn't have anything to say. Belle was sadly looking over Sora, taking in all his injuries that in technicality, she had helped his earn. The princess hung her head after a moment, closing her eyes gently. "Sora, we're so sorry." She said softly, words weighted with remorse. "If only we could have done something…we just…" She broke off as well, averting eye contact.

Sora spoke up finally, voice a little flat. "You're okay…" He mumbled, looking at both of them.

"Oh, but you aren't." Belle murmured, not looking up.

Sora let go of Goofy, stumbling forward and standing in front of both of his friends. "I don't care." He breathed, letting a smile cross over his face. "I'm just so glad you're okay, you have no idea. I thought you both were dead, this is great!" They both looked a little oddly at him. Which he supposed was a given, considering he was so optimistic when he looked so pessimistic, but it didn't matter. Lunging forward, he wrapped his arms around Belle in as tight an embrace as he could with only one arm. It was all a lie, they were fine and they were going to stay that way.

"Sora, I hope you could forgive us." Beast rumbled, looking the most nervous Sora had ever seen him.

"I was never mad." Sora said, with a small smile. "Just scared that something happened to you guys."

Suddenly, Riku spoke up, Sora looking over at him carefully. "It sounds like you want to visit a few more worlds." The boy said, eyes glinting as he spoke.

Sora blinked for a moment, unsure of what to say. But then he remembered the way he had tried to get Genie's help. His friends in Agrabah would be frantic worrying about him. And the way he had barged in on Jack and Sally. They would be scared too. There was a list of people he had to see, and it seemed like Riku knew exactly what Sora was thinking. …Maybe he hadn't changed as much as Sora thought he had. "…Yeah." He said after a moment's pause. But then he glanced back over at Beast and Belle, grinning against himself. "But I wanna stay here for a little bit longer."

Belle and Beast smiled.

A/N: My (WAIT FOR ITTTTTTT) sister is kicking me off :3

Failed Science Test = Studying all weekend long for the retake on Tuesday, so wish me luck.

I couldn't find a really good ending for this, so I'm sorry 'bout that. My sister was literally screaming at me, and I was just like: "Give me ten more minutes woman! TEN MORE MINUTES!" So yeah, it was kinda a battle. I won. Apparently. O-o

YOU GUYZZZZ GOTS TA REVIEW FOR ME! BECAUSE I MISSED YOU GUYZZZ o3o

For some reason, I couldn't copy my normal passing-of-time-line, which I had grown quiet fond of, I don't know why I couldn't. So you get these little star things. I hope they show up, I'm not sure whether it'll work or not.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: I'm sorry. But…there…shall…be…FLUFFFFFF :I (only a little bit tho cough cough)

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By the time they got back to Merlin's house, the sun had long since gone down underneath the horizon. The stars were twinkling into view as they made their way into the cottage, Sora couldn't exactly remember the last time he had seen the stars in the night sky. But in the distance, storm clouds were rolling forward, a mossy kind of smell in the air as well. It was going to rain. Which of course, made everybody think that it was going to be a white Christmas. It was certainly cold enough out here to be one.

Everybody was sitting around, looking bored as they waited for them to get back. As soon as the door opened, all eyes went on them, Kairi and Yuffie taking a little longer to catch on. The two were coloring in a coloring book, currently fighting over who would be able to color the Rudolph picture. So far, it seemed like an ordinary Christmas. "How was it?" Aerith spoke up, voice soft as usual. Her green eyes met with Sora's, and he gave her a small smile in return. Hopefully it would be enough.

It seemed to be. Aerith grinned in response, turning and looking over at the clock with a small frown. "We should get to bed." She said, louder this time as she addressed everybody. Sora followed her look, blinking with slight surprise. He hadn't known it was so late. Yuffie flung her head back, letting out a low moan as she did so. She started to complain, but Merlin cut her off quickly, looking over at her with a stern look of a father.

"Come on, Yuffie." Merlin said thinly, eyeing her as he spoke. "We're not going to have enough room in here for everybody anyway, so you might as well start heading home." His words were sharp, but there was affection in his eyes, like there always were when the old wizard was looking at you. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him bad-temperedly, but she too held a certain warmth for the man. Out of everybody in the group, it always seemed like both Yuffie and Aerith held a closer bond with Merlin. Aerith as more of an apprentice than anything, while Yuffie was treated more like Merlin's own teenager. Sometimes it was amusing, to see how much these two liked to bicker with each other.

But Yuffie didn't drag her feet any more than she already had, rolling her eyes to herself as she got to her feet. She turned, stooping down and grabbing her bag that lay discarded over on the ground. "You're kicking me out of the house on Christmas Eve." Yuffie said sarcastically, crossing her arms and shaking her head slowly at Merlin, as if ashamed. But the others that lived…wherever else they lived…started to get up as well, gathering their things. Most of them stopped to talk to Sora, trying to stall in getting to the door. But Sora wasn't complaining.

"You stay here for a few more minutes, and technically, it'll already be Christmas." Merlin sighed, looking back over at the clock. Granted, the old man was right, Sora thought with a grin. "Besides," Merlin added. "I'm an old man, and I need my sleep without you all pestering me. I have to draw a line somewhere, otherwise my magic will be all drained out before tomorrow even starts."

"We found that out the hard way on New Year's." Leon mumbled over to Sora, who tried not to laugh in turn.

"Are you going home?" Sora asked, trying to ignore Merlin and Yuffie for the time being as he turned back over to the man. Somehow, he was torn between being glad everybody was leaving, or wanting them all to stay back at the house. He wanted to be surrounded by his friends, he wanted to laugh and tell jokes and try to forget the lingering thought of his dream. And yet his knees were shaking even now, screaming at him to go back to sleep. Leon seemed to know what he was thinking, smiling slightly as he leaned over, mussing up Sora's hair as the boy let out a squeak of protest.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." He said, letting his hand drop back to his side. He snickered as Sora threw him a withering look, reaching up with his good hand and going his best to smooth down the now-messed-up hair. "We should really give Merlin a break, he's been working hard these past few weeks. If he wants to sleep, we should give him it. And you too." He added, as he caught Sora's crestfallen expression. He paused a moment, watching Yuffie as the girl turned dutifully, heading over to the two boys. It was clear whatever fight she had with Merlin, the wizard had won. Not that Sora was surprised, though. "I'm probably going to stay over at Yuffie's house." Leon said, almost like he was talking to himself.

Sora started, blinking rapidly as he straightened. _What? _The way that the two were looking at each other…it reminded him of the way Selphie used to look at…well, everyone. Sora included. Kind of dreamy, and maybe a little bit far-away. Yuffie let a small little smile cross over her face, and Leon returned the expression, which was usually unlike him to do something along the lines of that. It was then that Sora got what was going on, the thought slamming into him like a hammer, and he widened his eyes. He looked like a child when they found out they had homework over the weekend. Shocked and emotionally scarred.

Yuffie caught his eye, jumping with a start. But she immediately calmed at the smirk that Sora threw her way, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear quickly. Shoulders slumping somewhat, she opened her mouth to through a sharp retort back to her friend. Suddenly, she blinked, relaxing somewhat as she looked at him with a newfound sense of concern. "Hey- you'll be alright here, right?" She asked, voice a lot quieter than it had been when she was talking to Merlin.

Sora pushed down his twinge of resentment at her tone, as if he was a child that couldn't stand to be by himself. Instead, he smiled brilliantly, the usual smile that he always gave to people. At least he could still have that to reassure people. "I'm fine." He assured her quickly. "I think I'll just manage for the next…" He glanced back over at the clock on the wall. "…few hours." He finished, a little lamely. It seemed enough for Yuffie though, and that was what he was going for.

"Alright, then." She said, looking him over carefully for a moment more before turning towards the door. "Tomorrow's going to be awesome, I guarantee it! Because if it's not, I'm wrapping this stuff right back up and heading back over to the Item Store guy and throwing it all right back into his face!" Leon and Sora stood with twin looks of awkwardness as she went on, walking away from them both and waving her hands around in wild gestures. "I've been planning this for weeks, and if it isn't perfect, I'm going to kill somebody!" Riku, who had been at the door talking with the King, stopped at this, blinking rapidly as he turned to look back at her oddly. She must have been used to weird looks, Sora guessed, because she just kept walking.

Leon still hadn't moved. Sora started, looking back over at the man. "Well, you'd better hurry up if you wanna catch her." He said, trying to make a joke. "While you're gone, she could start a rampage, and then we'd all be in more trouble than we can handle." He laughed at his own joke, but Leon didn't seem to want to do the same. He was looking at Sora weird again. The boy tried to bite back a growl of frustration. He just wished that everybody would stop staring at him, it might make this whole thing a little bit better, if not a whole lot better.

"Sora-" Leon broke off a moment, wincing as Yuffie called out his name once again. The others were making their way outside, some of them pausing a moment to call out a goodbye to Sora, or hugging him on their way out. As Cid passed, the man clapped Sora on the shoulder, saying something along the lines of he was glad that Sora didn't die. Affection warmed the boy's heart. That was like an: 'I love you' coming from him. But Leon ignored Yuffie rather rudely, looking at Sora with a guilty expression. "I wanted to say I was sorry." He said finally, going on even at Sora's odd look given to him. "I left you…back there. I wasn't thinking. And when you called out for me…I wasn't there for you either."

Sora blinked rapidly, caught off-guard. The memories of that day were a little fuzzy, probably because of the fact that Sora hit his head a lot of times since then. But he did remember the way Leon went to help Yuffie, the way that Sora had resorted to calling out for help when it was too late. He flinched inwardly, but shoved it away, putting on a wide smile. "It's not like it matters now." He said, a strange sort of optimism in his voice. "Yuffie needed help then, there was no changing that. And you and I both know that none of us expected what was gonna happen. So it's not your fault."

Leon still looked a little doubtful.

"Leon, if you had stayed, we still would have lost." He added dryly, amusement thin on his voice to show that he wasn't mad.

Yuffie poked her head inside, looking irritated now. "Are you coming, or can I leave without you?" She demanded sourly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Leon said, exasperated. Sora smiled faintly, watching as Leon sighed lightly, turning back at him with a grin. "Well…" He looked awkward for a moment, at a blank at what to say. Sora drew himself up with a sophisticated look, extending his arm in a hand-shake.

"I do believe I shall see you on the morrow." Sora said humorously.

Leon stared at him, then laughed, throwing his head back as he did so. He slapped Sora's hand out of the way lightly. "Yeah, I guess." He laughed, eyes glinting as Sora pretended to look offended. Yuffie was making a dramatic scene of standing in the doorway to wait for Leon, meanwhile. "Don't let the bed bugs bite, huh?" Leon joked, reaching over and mussing up Sora's hair yet again. This time, Sora didn't try and fix it. "See ya tomorrow, Sora." Leon said, turning on his heel and walking over to Yuffie, who perked at once, hands clasped together tightly as she waited in the doorway for him to get close enough.

Sora blinked, rubbing his injured arm softly as he watched Leon get closer. He knew enough about repetitive Christmas Traditions to know why Yuffie had chosen to stand right underneath the doorframe. Maybe it was just because he found out they were together five minutes ago, or maybe it was common sense, but he turned away with a small grin. He wouldn't want to eavesdrop on them.

But as soon as he saw the door that led upstairs, his grin faded at once, changing into a small, uneasy frown. He didn't want to go back upstairs and fall asleep, the thought of even trying it made his stomach turn over like a pancake. Merlin was conjuring up more couches and spaces for beds for the King and everybody else that didn't originally live in Hollow Bastian. There was strain in the man's eyes, and Sora knew at once that as soon as the job of fixing the place up was done, Merlin would be out like a light. There would be no time for Sora to try and ask the wizard about his dreams.

But frankly, he didn't want to tell him. What would the old wizard say anyway? What would SORA say? "Yeah, no big deal, and sorry to rain on everybody's Christmas and all, but I had a dream about Xemnas and he said that he still wanted me dead. Who wants to open presents?" He couldn't say anything like that. Biting back a wail of frustration, Sora wondered dimly when everything would just die and everything could be simple again. As if it were possible, he thought grouchily. Before anybody could see him standing there like an idiot, he turned, walking out the door and shutting it behind him.

Wearily, he let himself fall down to the stone steps with a painful thud. But he shoved the jolt of shock away, looking instead up at the sky. He remembered when him, Kairi, and Riku used to always look up at the stars and say what constellations they thought they saw. They were always weird ones, mostly made up by Sora and Kairi. Things like 'The Rabbit Late for Work' or 'The Stinky Cheese.' Riku was -or course- a lot more practical, pointing out star alignments that actually existed. Which sucked the fun out of everything, in Sora's opinion.

That seemed like a long time ago from now, and it was. Both mentally and physically. A tugging sensation jabbed at Sora's chest, and he longed for the old days back. If only just for a short while. And yet, nothing happened. He was still sitting on the front steps to Merlin's house, skin stinging from the cold and wounds aching. He knew that he should probably go inside, but he didn't move. He was rooted to the spot, and he wasn't going to get up for a while. If he could help it, that is.

Sitting in silence for a few moments, Sora suddenly realized that he could hear footsteps. Immediately, he stiffened, eyes focusing in less than a moment as he scanned the shadowy area in front of him. His heart pounded against his chest, blood roaring in his ears. He thought he saw a flash of black. He shot to his feet, ignoring the sharp sting of pain that followed. His mouth snapped open, ready to call out to whoever was hiding in the darkness. _Xemnas? _He shook his head sharply to himself. Xemnas was dead, he had to believe that.

"Sora?"

The boy turned, blinking slowly as he saw Kairi walk out the door over to him. Her face was creased with worry and concern, blue eyes shimmering in the dark. Sora's face cleared at once as they met eyes, his shoulders slumping. Kairi came to a stop beside him, looking anxiously over in the darkness. "What were you looking at?" She asked, voice unusually steady when she spoke. Looking at her now, Sora could only wonder how he ever recognized her. She was so different. She turned to look at him questioningly. He realized he'd just stared at her for a good few minutes.

Jerking, Sora whipped his head back around to stare intently at the spot he saw something move. "Uh…" He looked at it a moment longer, but nothing moved. Nothing changed. "…Nothing, I guess." He said finally, turning back over to her. He didn't want to make her think that he was even more crazy than she already knew. Pausing a moment, he added. "So…Merry Christmas." He offered.

Kairi cracked a smile, clasping her hands behind her back. "Merry Christmas _Eve_." She corrected him, amusement playing in the edges of her eyes. "It's not Christmas _just _yet. Maybe in a few minutes, though." She tacked on, giving a small laugh. Sora turned to look behind his shoulder, back into the house. Merlin would probably be cross with him staying out like this at night, but he didn't give much thought to it. He was wondering about Riku. Whether or not he would come out as well. Somehow…it could go both ways. Sora wanted the familiar Christmas tradition of being with his friends…but it didn't seem like it would be the same with Riku…the way he was. The thought made a shadow flicker over Sora's face.

"…I wanted to give you this." Kairi said suddenly, making him snap back to attention. She was holding out a mug, steam smoking out from it. Pausing a moment with surprise, Sora reached forward, taking it from her gently. It was a mug of hot chocolate, the warmth seeping through Sora as he held the cup tightly in his hand. He smiled down at the liquid, seeing a few marshmallows bobbing on the surface. Kairi rubbed the back of her neck nervously, avoiding eye contact. "I felt a little bad about when he first saw each other again." She confessed. "I guess I didn't know what exactly to say to you. And we haven't really talked since then, right?"

"…Right." Sora mumbled, looking away from her awkwardly.

Kairi opened her mouth to say something, but broke off with a startled noise, looking up. Sora felt it to, tipping his head back to look into the sky. Freezing cold raindrops were streaming down to the ground, the small plopping noises already filling the silence that was around them. Kairi squeaked, trying to turn back around and rush back inside. But when she was halfway there, she glanced back to see that Sora was still standing where she had left him. Blinking rapidly, she turned back, already feeling her clothes sticking to her. "Aren't we going inside!" She yelled, having to shout over the now-pelting rain.

Sora turned over to her, eyes shining with the usual humor and excitement that always used to be there. The sight made her slightly surprised, but she overcame it quickly, looking at Sora like he was an idiot. "C'mon!" He said, voice nearly breathless as he grinned from ear-to-ear. "Let's stay out here! Just the two of us!"

Kairi smiled gently, her own voice ringing in her ears. "Let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!" Eyeing Sora's hot chocolate that she had spent a whole minute watching it heat up in the microwave, she realized with a pang that it was overflowing now. It was half-water by this time, it would taste terrible. She laughed once more, shaking her out of it. Her blue eyes met with Sora's own, and once again she felt the familiar sort of fuzziness in her stomach. "Fine." She giggled. "Let's get soaking wet and not care about it."

"That's the way you need to think!" Sora laughed, leaning down and putting his cup down on the step. He turned, looking up at the sky and sticking his tongue out childishly to try and catch the raindrops. Kairi watched him, one eyebrow raised. Her hands rested on her hips, she was shivering by now because of the cold of the rain. They would both get sick and then spread it to everybody else. Like Merlin didn't have enough to worry a bout, she thought sarcastically.

"Are you gonna sing in the rain, or what?" Sora demanded, eyeing her almost expectantly.

"I'm not going to do anything that you could record and/or put online." Kairi said sternly, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her nose in the air. But when she glanced back over at Sora, she laughed at the angered look he was giving her. It was fake, of course, but he looked so furious, she couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, fine." She gasped, smiling as she straightened, clearing her throat. She then proceeded to start singing Jingle Bells very off-tune and off-pitch.

"This is all wrong." Sora said flatly, cutting her off.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, puzzled and a little offended he cut through her solo.

Sora cracked a smile. "You can't sing good. It's not going to work." He snickered.

Kairi gasped sharply, reaching over and pushing him lightly on the shoulder. "You are the most immature person I've ever had the displeasure in knowing!" She snapped, face bright red and flushed. Maybe it wasn't supposed to matter, but she couldn't help but grow even redder when Sora laughed at her new color.

"You love me, though." Sora teased.

Kairi blinked, startled. Her blue eyes flashed as they widened, and she forgot what she was about to say. Her mouth hung open slightly, and she gaped like a fish. "…What?" Sora asked, smile wavering slightly as he stared at her. His happy look was slowly morphing into one that was probably meant to ask Kairi what her sudden problem was. But then he started, eyes growing wide at once. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that!" He said quickly, taking a small step backwards. "I mean- of course I didn't, right? I know how you might feel about…somebody else." He glanced quickly back over at the house, swallowing back a lump in his throat. "Let's go inside-"

"How I feel about somebody else?" Kairi echoed, nose wrinkling.

"…Well…yeah." Sora said lamely, feeling his face grow warm. "Look, I don't-" He sighed, growing impatient with himself. "We don't have to talk about this, it's Christmas." And it's raining like heck, he added to himself. He was starting to get cold now that he wasn't distracted, and it just occurred to him that this might have been a bad idea to stay out here. Merlin wouldn't have wanted it, that's for sure, he thought dully. But when did he ever listen to Merlin, anyway? The thought would have made him laugh if he wasn't in such a stupid situation.

"Like who?" Kairi demanded, looking just as surprised as him.

"…Kairi, I'm cold." He grumbled, turning away dejectedly.

"Sora, I don't have feelings for anybody." Kairi said firmly, obviously leaving no room for him to object, which he wouldn't have done in the first place. Instead, he stood there with a blank look on his face, not at all sure what to say in retaliation. There was nothing he could say, really. And yet a small smile teased on the edges of his lips. So…Kairi didn't like Riku? Or was she just lying to make him feel better. But that didn't sound like the Kairi the Sora knew, and as soon as she spoke again, his assumptions of her dissolved into dust. "…at least…nobody else…but you." She mumbled, face bright as a cherry.

If he hadn't known what to do before, he was screwed now. He opened his mouth to say something, but then broke off, wincing as his shoulder flared up in a blaze of pain. Wincing deeply, Sora reached over, holding it tightly, which only made it worse. He realized that the rain was slowly turning into hail, and wouldn't you know it, the first ever piece of the storm landed right on his broken arm. "Figures. I have the worst luck." He growled under his breath, just loud enough for Kairi to hear.

The red-head moved forward slowly so that she was standing right in front of him. She looked down at his arm with concern in her blue eyes, looking worried and anxious. "Are you alright? Do you want me to get Merlin?" She eyed the storm that was progressively getting worse. No doubt she was regretting staying out here. But the tone in her voice just made Sora fume, looking away angrily. He was treated like a pane of glass that could crack at any minute.

He wished he could scream it out.

"STOP TREATING ME DIFFERENT!"

Kairi caught the change in mood, drawing away from Sora slightly, with a hurt look. "…Do you wanna talk about it?" She whispered softly, eyes searching his own. It was then that Sora realized how close they were, how he could hear her perfectly clear even through this awful storm going on around them. For the first time, he also remembered the edit to the drawing he had done back at the island a long time ago. Had she seen it yet?

He blinked, voice small as he mumbled back to her. "No. …Not right now, anyway."

Kairi blinked, staring at Sora silently for a moment or two. She edged a little closer to Sora, inch by inch. Sora was stiff, looking at her blankly. Something in the back of his mind asked him if he wanted to move, informing him that it was in his power to do so. He could quite freely duck out of the way, form an excuse, and then slip back into the house even before Kairi could think of what to say. But the larger part of his brain knew it would be stupid. The part that knew even before he did. Knew the reason behind all the fun he had with Kairi, even when they were doing stupid stuff. The reason why when anything was going on in town, a fair, a festival, he would ask Kairi to go with him first. The reason seemed obvious now, blatantly clear.

He loved her.

And the thought kept repeating itself in his head long after the girl pressed herself against him, their lips meeting for the very first time in a searing kiss.

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A/N: I was going to add more, but I gotta leave like…. -looks at clock- ….now.

I'm sorry, like I said. But this is a good ending. I hope I get lots of reviews for it ;)

This story is getting SO close to the end. Maybe…a few more. That's it. Originally, it was gonna be two more. But I've been thinking, and I think we should stretch it out to three or four more.

For any of you (probably none) that was reading Illusion when I had it out…I'm picking it back up again. Just to tell you all :D


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: I really love this new song Some Nights, I heard it on the radio, and I don't know, it made me think of this story. Dudes, I'm gonna be really depressed when this ends. I think that this is one of my most favorite stories. I've had so much fun writing it, if you can relate to that. This is the fortieth chapter~! Dang, it all went by fast, huh? …This isn't the last chapter, but still. I'm having depression at the mere thought of it being so close~ I guess that means I'll just have to think up another awesome KH story, right? Lol

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Merlin made a small noise of disapproval, eyes narrowed as he looked over Sora. There was irritation in his stance, that much was obvious. His arms were crossed over his chest, his foot tapping to a rhythm that was uneven and quick. Sora blinked, trying not to look too awkward standing there doing nothing. Tried to avoid meeting eye contact with the wizard. Finally, the man spoke, breaking the silence between them. "Sora, did you sleep at all last night?" He demanded, voice soured as he looked the boy up and down critically. Sora winced inwardly to himself. He didn't think that it would have been that noticeable, Merlin had only been up here for a few minutes. None of which contained a simple 'Merry Christmas.'

In total truth, Sora hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. He couldn't even close his eyes without the images from his last dream shoving their way into his mind. It was all he could do to just lay in bed, stiff as a board, wide eyes looking over at the wall as he tried his best not to move. But he must have been in an awkward position, because he was even more achy than he had ever been when he woke up. He also was showing off large bags underneath his eyes today. His whole posture seemed to radiate Christmas morning, right?

"Great." Sora bluffed, pasting a smile on his face. "Like a log." He added quickly.

Merlin wasn't about to take any lies standing, it seemed. The old man's face puckered, opening his mouth as if to say something. But thankfully, he was cut short. Riku came up the steps, looking a lot better-rested than Sora seemed to be. "Everybody is here already." He reported, eyes flickering over to Sora, taking in the boy's state in less than a moment. His eyes glittered, and it took Sora a moment to realize that it was amusement there. Like he was teasing him. Just like Riku used to be, before all this stuff started. Sora didn't know whether to look away from him, or smile. So he did a mixture of the two, looking down at his feet as he cracked a smile that he hoped Riku saw.

"Already?" Merlin asked, seeming a little frazzled as he turned to look at Riku like it was the teen's fault. "It's not even nine yet!" The old wizard seemed to have an internal clock, a perfect sense of time no matter where he was. It was one of the perks to being a wizard that Sora wished he had, he always wanted to know what time it was. Last night, five minutes seemed to stretch into five hours, like it usually does whenever he isn't doing anything. Even worse when he was forcing himself to stay awake. His limbs were threatening to give way even now, body feeling like it was weighted with lead. But he shook it off, focusing on what was going on.

Riku had shrugged, rolling his eyes with a small smile as he did so. "Tell that to them." He said, nodding down the stairs as he spoke. Muffled laughter and shouting could be heard already, Sora blinking at the noise. It obviously did not come in favor of Merlin's preference, but even the old man couldn't hold back the small glimmer of amusement in his blue eyes. It was Christmas, it wasn't like he was expecting the others to wait until noon to come over. He was faintly surprised they didn't barge into the house at the crack of dawn, yelling about presents and cookies at the top of their lungs. At least, he was surprised Yuffie didn't pull a stunt like that, he corrected himself.

"Alright." He sighed finally, though a little reluctantly. He glanced back over at Sora, obviously more than worried about his patient. "Are you sure that you'll be alright today?" He prompted. "we don't have to go down there just yet, you could try going to sleep again. You wont heal properly until you take proper care of yourself." Sora tensed at the last word. Was Merlin indicating that Sora couldn't take care of himself? …It was true in some cases, but the wizard should know by now that you shouldn't say that to someone's face!

But he shook himself. It was a stupid thought. And a rude one, he added to himself. "I'll be fine." He assured the man, cracking yet another smile. This one didn't have as much feeling in it, though. "Trust me, Merlin, I'll manage." He thought of adding a sarcastic remark at the end of that, but didn't. Whether he was too tired to, or he didn't want to be mean about the whole thing, it was the same, really. Merlin hesitated a moment before nodding slowly, turning around and brushing past Riku to head down the stairs. Sora watched with his eyes until the wizard was out of sight before flopping down on the bed, accompanied with a tired huff into the comforter. The bed suddenly seemed a million times more comfortable at this moment in time.

"You'll manage, huh?" Riku asked, with less humor now. Sora turned his head only, blinking slowly over at the boy for a moment of silence. For a while, Riku had seemed at ease, normal, even. But at Sora's look, he started, seeming to just remember what he looked like, what had changed about him. The way that Sora always regarded him now. A trace of hurt and guilt leaked into his eyes, and he shrugged, as if not knowing what to do or say in his defense.

Sora pushed himself up with a considerable amount of effort, which impressed him. He didn't think he had enough energy to even lift his arm a couple inches off the bed. "Well, I was thinking that Christmas cookies and getting hyped up on eggnog would help me stay awake. If only a little." He said, smiling as he spoke. "But with the way that Merlin was looking at me, I think he just left to go and bubble-wrap everything in sight."

Riku grinned at this, shoulders letting themselves fall a little, as if he was relieved by Sora's joke. It was more than he had gotten from the boy in the past few days, at least. The thought made Sora feel a little guilty, that much was regrettably true. This was Riku, he had known him his entire life. He shouldn't let what happened get in the way of their friendship, even if the teen did look a little different. And yet there was a lingering sense of doubt that he tried to move stubbornly away. But it was like it was super-glued down to the ground. It wouldn't budge.

"I'll sneak a cookie for you, before Merlin sanitizes it." Riku said, leaning against the wall.

"If you can move that fast." Sora yawned, grimacing to himself before screwing up his eyes, pushing himself off the bed with his good arm. The other was bound tight to his chest, there was going to be no help there. His leg was getting better, at least, faster than his arm was. He was able to support more weight on it by now, barely having any limp at all. But the tiredness in his body was taking a toll on that as well, as he staggered over to where Riku was standing. "Geez." He grumbled, a little bad-temperedly. "I feel like somebody broke me up into little pieces and then put me back together wrong." He started down the steps, Riku a few steps behind.

"Sora-"

"Don't even start." Sora growled, narrowed eyes concentrating as he took the steps one at a time, a slow pace. "If you start complaining and apologizing for everything just like everyone else is doing, I'm going to scream. I've heard that spiel a million times by now, whoever starts it next can expect a keyblade to their face. And I'm not joking about that." He added, slipping clumsily down the last few steps to be in front of the door a little faster than he was intending to do it. "What's done is done, we should bury the hatchet. If we keep dragging it up, it'll never die out."

Riku didn't say anything, but Sora knew that he had struck home. Hopefully Riku had taken that as a forgiveness to whatever the man was about to say. Reaching out to grasp the doorknob, Sora paused a moment before turning around to look over his shoulder at his friend. "But I am really glad that you came after me." He added, almost as an afterthought. "So just think that I don't care whatever happened before, alright?" Riku didn't reply, but smiled back at the younger boy. Before he could say anything else, Sora opened the door, turning back around and walking into the living room.

The whole place had an aura that screamed Christmas. His friends were already sitting all around, stockings in front of them along with a few presents that had their name on them. Sora could see his own pile from where he stood, it was near Kairi, who was sitting on the floor laughing with Yuffie. Despite the fact that the girl hadn't even looked over at him yet, Sora felt his face grow warm, his stomach flipping at first sight of her. He imagined it would be even worse when she turned around to look at him. Imagined that it would be pretty awkward or something like that.

But it was just the opposite. As soon as Kairi turned to look at him, she lit up. She wasn't awkward at all, or trying to make him feel awkward. It was just like it always was, except she seemed even happier to see him, which he didn't think was possible, before. She was beaming at the mere sight of him, and her blue eyes glimmered. Sora found himself smiling wider than he had all morning. Yuffie caught him too, grinning ear-to-ear at once. "Sora! Come over and sit down, you have stuff to open!"

The others smiled at him, waving and calling out Merry Christmas as he came into the room. Riku followed him, and for once, Sora wasn't uncomfortable with the man's presence behind him. He was perfectly fine. He sat down in front of his stack, looking slightly surprised at how much stuff was there for him. The stocking was literally overflowing with stuff, it was slowly spilling out onto the floor already. The present stack was huge, and more was underneath the tree, he could already see his name on one large one to the right of him. It was nearly hidden by the pine needles of the fir.

"You…you guys didn't have to go to so much trouble." Sora managed, looking at his friends with a slightly put-out look.

"It was our pleasure, Sora." Aerith replied politely, not accepting his apology, technically.

"Don't worry, Sora." Leon drawled where he sat. "Yuffie was the one who went overboard. Everyday, she dragged a different person to a different store." He threw a teasing look over at her. "It was a little less than ridiculous, I think." Whether or not it was something to do with their new relationship with one another, or the fact it was Christmas and you weren't allowed to fight with anybody, Yuffie didn't reply. She just rolled her eyes, accepting the tease with a sly grin. She didn't deny it, but she didn't agree with it either.

"Oh well." The Ninja huffed, eyes glinting. "Don't worry, Sora, it's all in the Holiday Spirit, right?" She gave a little wriggle, making Sora close his mouth from what he was about to say, looking at her oddly. "I've been waiting for this day for what seems like FOREVER! I've been planning it ever since…well, I'm not sure when I started planning it, but it was a long time. I'm so happy!" Breaking off, she threw a meaningful look over at Leon, and including Sora in it as well. "None of you better screw this up for me." She added icily.

Leon and Sora grinned, both saying: "No Promises." At the same time.

Goofy and Donald both sat on either side of Sora, a natural thing that came without any words whatsoever. The feeling of both his friends at either side of him warmed Sora to the core, and he found himself leaning against Goofy as he watched his friends start opening their presents. Kairi blinked, drawing out a new necklace from her stocking, a smile crawling over her face. It was a small keyblade charm at the end, with blue sparkles glinting in the light of the room. Merlin smiled kindly from the other side of the room, obviously the charm had been from him.

Suddenly, Sora realized something was missing. He straightened, getting off of Goofy and sitting bolt upright. "Where's the King?" He asked, scanning the room once more in case he had looked over the small mouse. But he was right, the King was nowhere to be seen. It both surprised and scared him. The others started, as if they had forgotten about the mouse as well. It was Riku who answered the question, looking up where he sat next to Leon, his own stuff spread out around him.

"He went back to the castle." He explained, Sora blinking with faint surprise. He wasn't staying here? "I don't know how long he's going to be there, if he's going to come back at all." Riku went on, having the others' full attention on him. "He just said that it was time he set off again. He said first he'd go back to Minnie, to be with her for today. But then he said he had more things to do." He looked over at Sora, noticing the put-out look on the boy's face. "He said that he wanted to stay with you longer, but he couldn't allow himself to." He shrugged. "He's a King. Busy, I guess."

Sora kicked down the feeling of jealousy that lanced through him. Of course Mickey would tell this to Riku and not him, he knew Riku better, after all. He couldn't think that the King would stay here at the house forever, it was a ridiculous thought. He was fine now, he was just thinking yesterday about how he didn't like everybody treating him different after what happened. The involved the King, too. The King actually knew that he could take care of himself, at least. He wasn't about to hang over Sora like a vulture. Hesitantly, Sora had to let himself be glad that Mickey had left.

Blinking, he realized that he didn't even try to get into his stocking yet. He looked down at the sock, perking at once at the sight of something that looked rather familiar. Reaching forward, his hand closed over it, bringing it out -with difficulty- so that he could see it fully. It was the charm…Kairi's charm. The familiar star-shaped pendant having been hid among the other things in his stocking. He almost hadn't noticed it. Funny, he thought. He never really realized that he had lost it. Or had he? He shook himself, noticing that there was a small little note attached to the end of it. Sora tore it off -with even more difficulty than it took to get the thing out- and managed to read it.

_Don't worry about giving it back._

_It's yours now._

_Merry Christmas._

_~Kairi _

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He got some pretty neat stuff. The charm was now tied to the end of his keyblade, like it normally was, or had been, at least. He'd gotten a range of presents, from each and every one of his friends. Things from the Item Store that he had always glanced over when he went inside, and stuff that he never really even thought about, like polish that could somehow be used on his keyblade. It wasn't like he ever had time really for that stuff, but he wasn't about to tell Cid that. The old guy looked pretty proud of himself when Sora opened that one.

By the time everyone was done, it was close to eleven. Hours had passed, and they had gone by quick as a flash. Sora would have rather had it go by slower, but he wasn't about to complain. Something had felt off about the whole thing, Sora unnerved the whole time he opened his presents. There was something weird, and he had no idea what it was. He kept looking up, scanning the area around for anything that shouldn't have been there, but it was all the same. The Christmas decorations hadn't even moved an inch, much less anything else. It was perfectly alright, but it wasn't at the same time.

They were all just sitting around now, going into the lazy stage of Christmas morning. Where you weren't really starting to use your presents yet because you didn't want to waste energy doing anything. Like an aftermath of the excitement in the morning. Nevertheless, Sora was sitting on the ground, head resting on the palm of his hand as he tried his best not to doze off. He kept sagging forward, starting as he realized he was on the border of sleep. If the others noticed, they didn't say anything, which Sora appreciated. He tried to snap himself awake, but it did no good. If anything, it made him even more tired, if it was even physically possible.

"Hey, you alright?" Sora jumped ten feet into the air at the sudden voice, getting a small little wake-up call, at least. Turning, he blinked blearily over at Kairi, cracking a smile. The red-head blinked, head tilting to the side as she narrowed her eyes worriedly at him. "You seem tired, is it because of last night? I tried to tell you to go inside." She added, looking a little more like her old self as she snickered. Her blue eyes still showed worry, though as she stared at Sora.

The keybearer shook his head slowly. "Nah, it's not from that. Don't worry." He mumbled.

"Then what?" Kairi pressed, looking a little puzzled.

"It's just that-" He broke off, blinking rapidly as he realized that the whole room had gone quiet. Turning, Sora's eyes landed on Yuffie, who was standing beside the only window in the room. Her hand was resting on the doorknob, her forehead wrinkled with something between confusion and suspicion. Her eyes were darker than normal, it was enough to make Sora worried. "What's wrong, Yuffie?" He asked, sitting a little straighter. Thankfully, Kairi didn't seem ruffled from him not answering her question, she too was concerned.

"I don't think it's anything…" Yuffie mumbled, voice almost torn. Leon had gotten up by this time, walking over to stand by her, peering out the window as well. "I just thought I saw something, just now. Outside." She turned to glance back at Sora, and the boy was well-aware of the fear that flickered through her eyes at the sight of him. Leon caught it too, mouth twisting with anger as he growled underneath his breath.

The swordsman turned sharply, whirling to look back at Riku, who stood up almost immediately. "Riku, come on, we're going to investigate it." He barked, brushing past Yuffie and heading for the door. Sora looked back and forth, waiting for himself to be summoned as well. But all Leon did was pause and look back at Yuffie, a question in his eyes. Yuffie hesitated a moment before nodding, like she understood what Leon wasn't saying aloud.

Before Leon could walk outside with Riku, Sora scrambled to his feet, eyes flashing with accusation. "Hey!" He said sharply, left hand balling into a fist. "How come I can't go with you?" He asked flatly, meeting Leon with a glare as he turned. Kairi started at Sora's movement, looking a little stunned as she looked at him through wide eyes. Surely she didn't agree with him staying behind, right? He was getting treated different enough, he wanted to actually do something instead of just sitting around the house all day. Or, sleep, which he was trying to refrain from.

"Sora, it'd be better this time if you stayed back." Yuffie mumbled where she stood, hitting her hands together awkwardly as she looked down at the ground.

"Trust us, Sora. And listen to us, please." Leon added, a little more sarcastic than Sora would have liked in the first place. The boy locked his jaw back angrily, watching as the two turned and went outside. Before the door closed, Riku threw back and apologetic look, frustration welling up in Sora's chest enough to make him explode. But he didn't move as he watched them shut the door, watched through the window as they turned to walk towards the Bailey.

He was getting left behind over something stupid like Yuffie thinking that she saw something. Roughly, he swallowed back his anger, flopping down painfully to sit on the ground, bad-temperedly. His blue eyes blazed with blue fire as he glowered at the ground, and he barely heard Yuffie try to change the subject by going over to get snacks. Kairi blinked, peering over at Sora's face with a slightly hurt look on her face. "You're going to listen to her?" She whispered, her voice so small that Sora could barely hear her.

"What?" Sora asked, whispered just as low as her. He turned to look at her oddly, to see that her look had changed to a small smile.

"You never struck me as one who listens." She murmured, eyes glimmering.

It was then that Sora realized what she was implying. He smiled crookedly, straightening as he did so. "I'm not." He whispered back, looking up to see Yuffie's back to him. The others were slowly getting up, following her to see what kind of stuff was around to eat. "I'll have to be fast." He mumbled, looking down at his bad leg. It wouldn't be so bad if he had managed to sleep, he thought ruefully. But it didn't matter all that much, he could still be at town square by the time any of them even thought of turning around. Sora reached over, grabbing Kairi's hand and giving it a small squeeze. "Cover for me, alright?" He whispered, the girl nodding simply.

Pushing himself up silently, Sora turned, dashing over to the door with little to no noise. Which was better than he had expected, with his injuries. Opening the door, he flinched as it gave a shrill squeak. Head snapping around to look at Yuffie, relief flooded through him as a debate over caramel corn started up in the small pack of his friends. Kairi had flinched as well, brushing her hands forward urgently now, as a sign for him to hurry up and leave before the debate could be settled. Sora bit his lip, turning around and doing his best to squeeze through the small crack in the door. It caused his right arm to bend forward, pressing into his chest tightly. His eyes watered with pain, but he didn't make any noise, closing the door without a creak, thankfully.

He was outside, he'd made it that far, at least. Looking from left to right, Sora wondered which way he should go. He didn't even know what Yuffie saw. But all he knew was that he couldn't go towards the Bailey, that's where the others had gone. Plus, that would mean passing in front of the window, and he didn't think he wanted to risk that. Instead, he turned, setting off at a brisk pace that didn't aggravate his leg too much, heading for the town square.

Being here reminded him of the last time he had walked this path, and it made him shiver. He tried to forget it, though, forcing himself to think of other things. There was snow on the ground after all, he realized. Most of it was just ice, but there was about an inch on the ground. It made soft crunching noises as he walked through it. It also left footprints, he remembered, about five minutes later. He let out a growl at his brain, which wasn't working or something today. But he shook his head, coming up over the stairs and spotting Scrooge's Ice Cream shop.

It was closed, thank goodness. Most people don't want ice cream on Christmas, or any other cold weather, mind you. The place was dim, unopened for today. Walking past it carefully, Sora stopped on the ledge, looking down blandly. The place was still scorched from last time, he remembered. But the snow helped to cover up the damage, making it look like it always did. The only thing that showed it ever being there was how the snow looked dirty, black mixed in with the harsh white of it.

The square was completely empty, nobody else in it except for Sora. Everyone was in their houses, celebrating Christmas with their families. No doubt Yuffie had noticed him gone by now, probably running up and down the steps in search for him. He could just think of Kairi's face, innocent and oblivious as she started to put her gifts to use, ignoring the situation completely. Or at least, that was that he hoped she was doing, he corrected himself. That meant he didn't have a lot of time until Yuffie came charging out looking for him. But she would probably head out after Leon and Riku, which would give him more time, he figured.

Suddenly, he shivered, and not from the cold. He felt somebody watching him. Stiffening, he waited a moment before whirling around, keyblade flashing to life as he got into a defensive position. But there was nobody behind him. His keyblade had flashed into his right hand, slapping him in the face and making pain shoot up his arm at the same time. Gasping, he dropped the weapon in a rush, watching as it landed with a soft noise on the snow. "What was that for?" He demanded his weapon, feeling his face grow warm with irritation as he rubbed his injured hand.

He remembered back to the time that his magic had been haywire, how his keyblade had burned him whenever he tried to attack Axel. There was no doubt in his mind now that that was because of Roxas. His Nobody had known what help Axel could be, the opportunity of keeping his best friend alive was heavy on Roxas's shoulders as he tried to fit every single problem he could into Sora fighting back. That was granted, and Sora actually wanted to thank him for that, but if this was Roxas too, Sora was getting impatient. But then again, his keyblade always came into his right hand. He couldn't blame Roxas for everything.

"Fine." He growled, stooping down and scooping it up in his left hand instead. Feeling better now, he turned, looking across the town square for a second time. "Whoever's out there, come out." He called, voice stern and level. "If you don't come out now, I'll make you come out." He tightened his grip on his keyblade, hoping that he looked convincing. Although, with his bandaged, broken arm and the large gauze strip on his forehead, he doubted it.

His concerns grew certain as a drawling voice sounded from a shadowy corner that he had missed. "I doubt you could." It said, lazily. Sora started, jumping back at the noise as he swung around to face towards the voice. He couldn't see anything but a fain outline of black, a shape that was distinguishable all the same. It was an Organization Cloak. Sora bit back his cry, swallowing it down painfully. He wouldn't let himself hope it was him, it could be anybody. It could be Xemnas. The thought made Sora's knees threaten to buckle, the boy staggering as he tried to find his footing.

"What's with you?" The figure asked, making a move to go over to the boy. But Sora hissed at the notion of help, struggling up stubbornly. He held his keyblade out defensively, huffing for breath that stung his throat on the way down. Fear was now more prominent than the hope he had been feeling not moments ago. The thought of Xemnas being here was enough to make Sora scream for help right then and there. But even he knew that if he did, it would make no difference. He would be gone before anybody could even try to race after him. He was starting to wish that he had listened to Yuffie.

Though his thoughts were a little less than realistic, he spoke them anyway. "Get away from me." He growled, anger making his voice level and not riddled with waves of fear. "The others would never let you get away with this a second time, and I'm not about to let you win again." He winced at the last sentence, knowing he had little to no chance. But at least he could go down fighting than just giving up. Forcing himself to stay awake was suicide. He'd just rather get it over with.

The figure started forward, and Sora immediately backtracked a few feet, hitting his back against the Ice Cream shop. His blue eyes showed his fear now, and his voice was shaky as he yelled. "Stay back!" He held his keyblade close to his chest, eyes narrowed into slits as he grinded his teeth together tightly. But the figure took no notice, advancing slowly until he got into the open. When he came into the light, Sora found that the figure's hood was up, he couldn't see his face. But suddenly, he didn't look like Xemnas anymore. He looked like…Sora shook his head, wanting to kick himself. He wouldn't let himself think something like that.

"Think fast." The figure threw, too fast that Sora couldn't distinguish the voice. But the man raised his arm, throwing it forward like a pitcher did. In his shock, Sora's keyblade disappeared, the boy throwing out his uninjured hand to try and stop the incoming attack. He squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that this was a stupid way to try to protect himself. But he already did it, there was no going back. He realized after a few moments that the attack never came. Like an unprepared child, he cracked his eyes open slowly, if only to get a glimpse of what was happening. Then he started, straightening and letting his hand reach forward.

A small ball of fire was floating right in front of him, blazing with warmth despite the freezing cold air. As soon as he touched the thing, warmth flooded through him, spreading from his head to his feet in less than a heartbeat. Blinking, Sora turned, a smile on his face. "Axel!" He yelled, voice high and nearly squeaking with happiness. His smile faded at once as he realized Axel wasn't there anymore. He was gone. Whirling around, Sora let out a cry as he saw Axel slowly walking away, hands in his pockets. "W-Wait!" Sora yelled, like a lost puppy. "Don't go! Please! Stay!"

Axel stopped, though hesitantly. He turned, reaching up and bringing his hood down. The sight of his friend nearly ripped Sora apart, into two uneven halves. "I was just leaving." The man grunted, voice cold now, instead of the warmth that was in Sora's hand. It was hard to believe it had come from somebody who looked so freezing. "I just came to-"

"Check on me?" Sora demanded, finishing his sentence for him. He narrowed his eyes at Axel. The man's mouth set in a thin line, and Sora knew he had guessed it correctly. He had something he wanted to say, had a million things to say, but it was all the same from what he had said last time. Nothing would convince the Nobody to stay with him. With his friends. He eyes burned before he knew it, and he spat out the next words with anger and bitterness. "Just wanted to drop by and say Merry Christmas, right? It that it? Come and see me, then leave before you can even do anything else."

"It wasn't like that." Axel growled, face sour now. "I wasn't supposed to be seen."

"If you want to know how I am, just stay!" Sora yelled, reaching up and throwing the ball of fire down to the ground. The snow around it melted, but it didn't go out. Just sat comfortably in a puddle of water, which shouldn't have been possible. "Have you just been hanging around this whole time? Not talking to anybody, keeping to yourself? What kind of life IS that?"

"The life of a Nobody. Which you would never understand." Axel snapped back.

"You're being ridiculous." Sora muttered, voice dropping and anger leaking away slowly from his words. "It doesn't matter what happened before, it doesn't even matter than you're a Nobody. I don't care." His eyes flickered up to Axel's face, eyes dull. "Maybe nothing matters now, is that it?" He asked, voice growing a tad sarcastic. "Is that what you're trying to tell me? Maybe you're right. Maybe everything was for nothing. The Organization is wiped out, Maleficent is gone…maybe I should just crawl in a hole and die so that everybody can lead happier lives, right?"

"That is NOT what I'm saying." Axel sighed, hands on his hips.

"I bet you would stay if I were Roxas." Sora mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

That brought silence. Silence that proved Sora's statement true. Axel blinked, caught off-guard for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it just as fast. His green eyes were filled with guilt, hurt and confusion as he stared quietly over at Sora's dejected look. He would stay if it was Roxas. If by some miracle they had both gotten away from the now-wiped Organization. They would have found a way to live alone together, away from their once-rule. With Sora…it was completely different. He had his own friends, his own life. Axel and him had only been brought together by tragedy. Without it…there was nothing left connecting them.

"…Fine then." Sora muttered, turning his head even farther. "Leave. I don't care."

He didn't look back up at Axel. The Organization member blinked, feeling a little put-out. But he reminded himself that it was what was better for both of them. Ducking his head a moment, he closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. Turning, he started away, the crunching of snow underneath his feet the only noise for a moment. He knew without a doubt that Sora was watching him go, and he swallowed back the regret he felt. This would be the last time he saw the boy. He knew for a fact that he was better now. He was able to walk on his own now, jump around and run. He'd seen that for himself. Sora was going to have a whole life ahead of him, and Axel wished him the best for it.

But suddenly, there was sharp intake of breath, a thud muffled by snow following the small noise. Axel stiffened at once, eyes widening as he turned. Sora was sprawled on the snow, face creased in pain as he crumpled in on himself. His teeth were grinding together, the boy shaking where he collapsed. Something was wrong. Rushing forward without another thought, Axel sprinted forward, skidding to a stop in front of him. "Are you okay?" He asked, breathing unevenly at he panicked. Sora didn't reply, trembling so violently that he wouldn't even be able to reply if he could. "Oh crap." Axel looked left and right for somebody who cold help him, but he came up with noting both ways. "Crap, okay, hold on Sora, we can do this." He started to pt his hands underneath Sora, trying to lift him up to head back to house. But suddenly, something smacked him right across the face.

Axel blinked, stunned for a moment. It took a few minutes to see that Sora had been the one to hit him. The boy sprang up at once, completely unharmed, eyes flashing with accusation. "Seriously?" He asked, Axel looking at him, still shocked at what had happened. Sora flashed forward, pointing a finger right into Axel's chest. "What was that about!" Sora asked, yelling. "So you only like me when I'm dying, is that it?"

"That- that was ridiculous!" Axel yelled. "I thought you were dying!"

"Exactly." Sora concluded, stepping away from Axel and crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't say anything else, one eyebrow raised as he stared up Axel, as if daring him to say something in his defense. For a moment, neither of them did anything, Axel still sitting on the ground, trying to wrap his mind around what just happened. Sora stared down at him in disapproval, shaking his head slowly, like he was disgusted.

But then Axel cracked a smile. "You scared the crap out of me, kid." He laughed, trying to hide it behind his hand.

"You deserved it!" Sora flashed back. But he found himself smiling as well. Before he could stop himself, he added, "I guess I've gotten pretty good at dying spontaneously, huh?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood. But apparently it didn't need to be lightened. Axel was laughing outright now, everything before forgotten between them.

"Too good." Axel said finally.

"So…I bet you wanna stay, right?" Sora pressed, still trying to make it seem like it was joke. Crouching down beside Axel he sat by the man, looking over at him with intelligent blue eyes. "To make sure I don't die again, huh?" Axel blinked for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what to say. He stared long and hard at Sora, debating mentally. He looked towards the way he had been trying to go before Sora stopped him, then back where the house would be waiting. Sora watching him silently, waiting patiently. At least, the most patient he'd been the last few days.

"…I guess somebody has to keep watch over you." Axel said finally, allowing a smile.

Sora grinned, too happy to say anything for a moment. But then he said, "You know, you still have presents back at the house."

"Do I, now?"

"It's Christmas." Sora said simply.

"I know that. I'm not that oblivious."

"Only a little bit." Sora allowed, laughing.

"…You wanna go back then?" Axel asked, the nervousness in his eyes apparent. He obviously didn't know what would be waiting for him back at the house. Everybody saw how sad Sora had been when he had left, were they going to be mad at him for pulling a stunt like that? Ruining Sora when he seemed to be getting better? The Keyblade bearer caught the look, mouth pulling into a small frown. He looked over the snow-dusted square, debating a moment. The others would be waiting for him.

"They can wait a little while longer." Sora allowed finally, looking over at Axel with a smile from the corner of his eye.

Axel nodded once, not saying anything for a moment.

"…Merry Christmas." Sora said after a moment.

Axel nodded, giving a small smile. "…Yeah." He said, voice lighter than before. "Merry Christmas."


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Any of you know the old Disney movie The Great Mouse Detective? People in my school (after having found out that I am who I am on here) have been bugging me to restore an old piece I once had based on that story. I dunno if any of you were reading that one, but I guess after this, I have a previous engagement to bring back to life :P

But hopefully, I can manage two stories at once, I've done it before~! ^^

This is….(drum roll please) THE LAST CHAPTER!

Nah, I'm kidding. It's second to last :3

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Getting back was more difficult than getting there in the first place. Sora must have done something when he fell, or it was just that he fell in the first place. The first thing you might wanna stop when you're injured is throwing yourself all over the place willy-nilly. He had to lean on Axel's shoulder, but even then, all Axel could say was: "You kinda deserve it, you know." Which would have gotten him cross at any other time. Right now, all he could think about was that now he had every piece of the puzzle with him again. The snow seemed to gleam a little brighter, and the freezing winds that had wreathed around him before seemed miles away now.

Axel didn't seem as enthused, it seemed. His eyes were weighted down with a sense of either guilt, or nervousness. Both emotions usually unheard of for somebody like Axel, who always seemed so cool and collected. It was either one or the other, but never were they replaced by something like fear. Sora couldn't really remember whether or not it showed that last night back at the Organization's Castle. Frankly, he wasn't even sure he could see Axel's face in the first place. The whole thing was a blur.

But as they drew closer to the house, Sora noticed their apparent slowing down. Which he didn't mind at first, considering that this was a pace that his leg could take. But he knew that his unable to walk briskly had nothing to do with the way Axel was slowing down. Sora glanced over at him, opening his mouth to say something. But then he snapped it shut, not knowing exactly what to say in comfort to him. He was sure that his friends wouldn't make too big a deal out of this whole mess, they were nice people. They wouldn't ban Axel from the house, they weren't like that.

"It'll be fine." Sora managed with a grin, Axel turning to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess." Axel mumbled, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck. "As long as they know I'm just coming here to make sure you don't throw yourself off a cliff or anything. No sappy stuff like that." Sora stifled a laugh at that one, but didn't say anything in response, merely turning back to face the front, back over to the house. And it was a good thing he did it, too, otherwise he would have been plowed over by an oncoming train.

Yuffie dashed forward, just grazing by Sora and crashing right into Axel. With a heavy blow, she leaped at him, Axel having just enough time to yell out before the two plummeted to the ground. They were a rolling mass, wrestling back and forth. Sora stumbled backwards, blue eyes wide as the moon. Behind him, Goofy and Donald caught him, steadying him before he could fall. But he took no notice, eyes locked with disbelief at Yuffie and Axel fighting back and forth. He couldn't speak out of his shock.

"What side are you on!" Yuffie managed to yell at him, the girl (surprisingly) was winning, trying to pin Axel's hands down against the ground. The Ex-Organization member gasped, jerking up like he was having a seizure, trying to get her to budge off of him without hurting her. But it didn't seem to be doing much good, Sora realized after a moment of struggle between them. Axel must not have heard her question, Yuffie raised her voice into a yell. "TELL ME which side you're on!" She repeated sharply, eyes narrowed.

"I'm on YOUR'S you IDIOT!" Axel finally spat, managing to shove her off of him. Yuffie let out a small noise, skidding backwards on her toes for a few feet before she straightened, looking down at Axel with a suspicious frown, arms crossed over her chest. Coughing, Axel pushed himself up to his feet, dusting off the snow that was now caked on his cloak, looking irritated. "Thanks, but I don't think I asked to be a snowman." He said dryly, eyes flashing as he glared sourly across to Yuffie.

"Sorry." She said, not looking sorry at all. Her eyes flickered over to Sora, and that was when he finally found his voice.

"It's fine, Yuffie." He said, brushing Goofy and Donald off gently before limping forward to stand beside Axel. "I'm sorry for leaving without you knowing, but you of all people should know that I can't be in one place for long." Yuffie didn't answer him, but her eyes softened considerably. Sora went on, surprised that he had gone this far without being interrupted. "I went out there and I met Axel. I convinced him to come back to us, where he BELONGS." Sora stressed the word, eyeing Yuffie warningly. The message was clear. Welcome Axel back, or I'll set the Christmas tree on fire and make you watch.

Yuffie sniffed, turning over and looking Axel up and down for a moment of silence. At first, she looked unimpressed, a little judgmental, if you will. But then her face cleared somewhat, though she was still a little reluctant in her expression. "If you're sure this time." She said, her warning clear as day as well. You'd better not disappoint Sora again, or I'll shove you off a cliff before you can say 'Whoops.' Her eyes said it as well, boring into Axel with a blazing sort of look.

It was all Axel could do to smile awkwardly.

Kairi suddenly rushed forward, skidding to a clumsy halt beside Sora, spraying up snow as she did so. She teetered, looking like she was on thin ice. Sora lurched forward, steadying her without a second thought. The red-head wobbled a moment more before finally becoming right once again, flashing him a shy smile as stood, blush lighting up her face. Axel eyed the two together, and figured that he'd missed something. Which would be correct.

"Sorry." The girl mumbled, looking a little put-out. "I tried to not say anything, but I think Yuffie could qualify as a detective most of the time." She glanced over at the ninja, who was still looking oddly at Axel. But at the sound of her name, she turned, eyes glinting as she looked at the two with a small grin on her face. She mumbled something like: 'And you'd better not forget it.' before she turned, going back over to the house with a glance backwards to make sure they were following.

"It's fine, I don't care all that much." Sora said, voice softening with laughter as he turned, following in Yuffie's footsteps. He leaned on Kairi lightly, cursing himself for not being able to walk on his own. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure, nodding inwardly as he saw Axel following them closely. "I did what I needed to do." He went on, grinning back at Axel. "And I got to actually get five feet away from the house, which is another plus for me, if you think about it."

Kairi giggled at this, but didn't say anything, leaning over to open the door. But she stopped at a sharp yell that came from behind her, the girl turning along with Sora. Axel narrowed his eyes slightly, tensing at the shout as he turned as well. His eyes were alert for danger, whether it was from experience or just habit, he didn't care. All he knew was that he shuffled closer to Sora, which he hoped the boy didn't notice. But Axel caught the glint of blue eyes flashing over towards him, and he knew that the boy probably did catch the movement.

He relaxed at once though, shoulders drooping as he recognized the figures rushing towards them. So did the others in the house, who came out to greet them as well, standing behind the three. Riku and Leon jogged forward, puffing as they came to neat stop. Riku's yellow eyes flashed over to Axel briefly, surprise and shock lighting them up like disco balls. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you left."

Axel had been prepared to get the most chewed-out by Riku, but there was no accusation in the man's voice. There wasn't even the smallest hint of irritation, either. His voice was calm, as was his eyes as he studied Axel carefully. To say the least, Axel was a little more than surprised. Usually Riku was the one to get the most angry over something, ready to punch the lights out of anybody that stepped out of line. But suddenly, the man's eyes flashed as he stared at the Organization Member, and Axel finally realized why Riku had ever forgiven him in the first place.

Because he's made mistakes before, just like Axel had. And they had both been forgiven by the same person.

"Some little pest figured that I should stay." Axel explained, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly. Riku blinked, looking down at Sora. When the boy only rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, them man nodded slightly, only a fraction of an inch. Leon glanced at Yuffie, confused. Aerith and Merlin were standing close together, exchanging a worried look, but did not say anything. Nobody could doubt the debt that they owed Axel in making sure that Sora stayed alive as long as he could in the Organization's castle, it wasn't like they could just send him away. Not to mention that Sora wouldn't let that happen in the first place.

"Alright then." Leon finally said, managing a small smile in the awkwardness of the situation. "Let's go inside then. I guess me and Riku just walked around in the freezing snow for nothing." There was a dry humor to his voice, eyes glinting as he grinned. Sora laughed at this, at least knowing that he had the upper hand on his instincts, if not having all his strength back yet. It was enough for now, at least, he figured. At least he wasn't all that worthless. And he was only half-kidding on that part.

Slowly, the others turned, heading inside and out of the cold weather. Sora was about to head inside as well, but stopped short as he saw Merlin pushing his way forward over to Riku. As Sora watched, the wizard bent his head forward, eyes slightly worried as he mumbled quietly to Riku, gesturing to Sora's friend as he whispered. The boy blinked slowly, eyes narrowing with suspicion as he tilted his head to the side. Kairi and Axel exchanged a look over Sora's head, neither of them knowing what to do now. Almost in sync, the two turned, going back inside without Sora, leaving him behind on his own.

Eventually, Sora, Riku, and Merlin were the only ones still outside. But neither of the two seemed to notice that Sora was watching them, too wrapped in whatever they were talking about to notice him standing there. Sora only caught a few words that met his ears, only making his eyes narrow more. "…fix it…" Merlin was muttering. "Don't have to stay….risks…don't know how it would turn out." Riku opened his mouth to say something, but Merlin raised his voice to a stern tone, Sora catching every word this time. "He might not want it. You must understand it."

Sora blinked. Were they talking about him?

Riku shook his head, shrugging a little carelessly. Which seemed odd, it looked like they were talking about something serious. But Riku looked dismissive, like he didn't even give a second thought to whatever they were talking about currently. After a moment or two, Merlin nodded finally, turning around and brushing past Sora back into the house. He didn't even notice Sora standing there. Or if he did, he gave no sign of it. Following the man with his eyes, Sora waited until Merlin shut the door softly behind him before turning, walking over at Riku quickly.

His friend didn't seem surprised to see him marching over. Maybe he'd been expecting Sora to listen. Or maybe he wasn't as oblivious as Merlin and had seen him standing there before now. He blinked, waiting until Sora stopped right in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest. He tilted his head to the side, looking at Riku oddly. "What was that about?" He asked, jerking his head back to where Merlin left. Riku didn't reply at first, looking carefully down at the smaller boy, indecisive, it looked.

"It was about me." He said bluntly.

"What about you?" Sora pressed, trying not to feel nosey, which was a little hard.

"About this whole mess." Riku said, gesturing to the cloak he wore, the rest of him. Everything that had changed about him and made him somebody else. Sora winced away inwardly, but showed no evidence of it on the outside. He waited for Riku to go on, explain more. After a moment's pause, he shook himself, branching forward more. "Merlin told me that there was a way of becoming myself again, and I already had figured that much about it. But…I didn't want to do it. I told him no."

"W-What!" Sora blustered, caught off-guard. He hadn't expected Riku to say that. It would be the last thought on his mind. He didn't even know that Riku could have changed back to his old self, let alone refuse to do it! The thought seemed idiotic, and maybe it was. "You can't just throw away something like that, that's stupid!" The boy snapped, ignoring Riku's odd look. "What do you have to do? I'll do it for you! I'm not just gonna let you-"

"Kingdom Hearts has to be completed." Riku said flatly, looking at Sora dully.

The boy blinked, snapping his mouth closed. His blue eyes were trained on Riku, and he felt himself talk before he even thought of it. "Oh." He mumbled, caught off-guard once again. "Kingdom Hearts." Now the solution seemed obvious. And it was even more obvious why Riku hadn't wanted to take the chance for it. "That's not…" He groped for words, fumbling. "…I mean-"

"It's fine." Riku said, cutting him off before he could ramble even more. "I turned down the suggestion, it's just not something that we need now." He studied Sora a moment more before adding, "We're fine now, there's no need to change anything, right? I'm fine the way I am right now, and I know it wont make any difference for what I do. It's not what's outside that counts, it's what's in here." He leaned forward slightly, prodding Sora lightly in the chest with a small smile. "I'm not going to ask anything of you right now, I understand you a lot more than you think I do sometimes."

Sora tried to speak. The words were on the tip of his tongue: 'No, you don't have to worry, I can do it with you. Everything's good here.' But all he could think about were memories of the Organization's castle. The wounds pricking with pain on his skin, his throat tightening as if somebody was choking him. He managed a grin, clasping his hands behind his back as he did so. "I guess that's true." He said finally, still keeping up his smile. But a nagging thought was lingering in the back of his head.

"Let's go inside." Riku said, smiling warmly down at him. "I think Aerith was saying something about eggnog. Or hot chocolate, I forget which one. Does she always mumble like that?" He didn't wait for Sora's response, which wouldn't have come, anyway. "They're good anyway, and I really am getting cold." Sora didn't move, staring at the ground intently, brow creased with thought. Riku's smile faded away at once, but he didn't say anything else. He only nodded once, turning around and walking back inside the house, leaving Sora by himself.

At the door, he paused, turning back over to his friend. "You might wanna hurry." He added, against himself. "Merlin wont want you out here for much longer. I'll tell him you want to stay out here a little big longer, though." Sora didn't reply, closing his eyes tightly as he hung his head. Riku hesitated a moment more, but then forced himself to turn, going into the house and closing the door behind him. Warmth from the house flooded through him in a rush, but he didn't pay any heed to it. Turning to the window, Riku glanced outside, looking guilty. Sora hadn't moved.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi asked where she sat beside Axel, trying to persuade the man to open his presents. The Ex-Organization member was obviously refusing, looking irritated as he pushed the present away from him like it was a disease. The rest of them were sitting around, drinking hot chocolate. They were laughing and joking, it looked like the brief awkwardness with Axel was over, at least Riku hoped so. At the mention of Sora, Axel left the gift alone, looking up and tilting his head at Riku questioningly.

Riku shrugged. "He wanted time by himself." He said, hoping it would be enough.

Sora sighed, his breath furling up into a small cloud in the air. He stared down at the snow below him, feeling the weight of his tiredness trying to drag him down into the ground. His eyes were drooping down, he couldn't hold up his eyelids, it seemed. He couldn't go on like this, he was eventually going to smack right into a wall, and then a whole bunch of things could go wrong. Something Riku had said stuck with him: "It's not what's outside that counts, it's what's in here."

Sora was just fine on the outside. Or at least, besides his injuries, which didn't mean all that much.

But on the inside…his dreams…

So what did that make him?

A/N: Second to last chapter….depressing…

Hopefully I'll get the last chapter out soon.

But you should load me with reviews, we might not see each other in a long time D:

But I WILL keep making KH stories. Just after a few promised stories I gotta get through first.

Some people have been asking me to recreate a lot of the stories I didn't finish. So I guess after I get through those, I'll make another KH one : )


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Somebody needs to seriously play some funeral march right now. So sad.

Last Chapter. For realz now, people D:

I hope I shall do this justice :I

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He was back in the darkness again. When he had finally given into both himself and his weariness and fallen asleep, he immediately was back in this place. He eyed the area around him a new sense of nervousness and fear, something that he had managed to keep at bay before now. But with the new image of Xemnas's eyes following his every movement was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck raise altogether. Taking in a deep, shuddering breath, Sora forced his legs into motion, marching forward and trying to find the way out.

His footsteps echoed in the large space, and Sora found himself getting faster and faster. Just in the need for comfort, Sora willed his keyblade into his hand, taking a small dose of courage with the light that sliced through black for a moment. But then it was gone, and all he was left with was his keyblade and the darkness. Two very separate qualities, he felt miles stretch in between himself and Merlin's study. He got faster and faster until he broke into a full-out run, testing the limits of his newly-healed leg. The limp had gone to a small twinge in his ankle, not even making the slightest difference in his strides. But he hadn't run like this, yet.

It seemed to be holding up pretty well, just like the rest of him. Besides his bandaged arm, which was still strapped firmly to his chest. That wasn't going to heal anytime soon, Merlin had told him. Patience would be most at thin with this injury, Sora had thought dully. Just a matter of time. Which would be what described his end unless he got out of this hole. But there seemed to be no exit, he realized as he skidded to a clumsy stop. He looked around fully, turning in a small circle as he did so. But he couldn't see anything. Not even Roxas, who he had thought was always here with him, showing him the way.

That didn't seem to be the case here. Sora wanted to fall down on the ground and wail with dismay. If he couldn't find his own way out of here, then what then? Would he wake up if somebody shook him? Or would be dead to the touch unless he got out of here his own? His knees locked together, and he heard his keyblade clinking before he even knew that his hands were shaking. The darkness was too tight, too suffocating. His throat closed in on itself, his shoulders braced as if holding up a weight of great force. He had never thought that he was claustrophobic, but this seemed exactly like what would happen if he were. The darkness was slamming down on him.

"You need to calm down." A dry voice spoke from behind him, making him freeze.

It took him a full minute to get enough courage inside of him to turn around. Slowly, like he were made of ice, he shuffled around to face wherever the voice had come from, blue eyes wide. Even when he turned, he didn't relax even then. His brain dragged on, and it was a moment before he could catch up and notice who it was. Immediately, he rushed forward, hands flying out as he ran as fast as he could. He slammed into the person, almost trying to knock them over, but not quite. "Roxas!" He yelled, voice coming out a million octaves higher than it was normally.

The blonde smiled for less than a second, then recovered. Scowling, he shoved Sora off of him, watching sourly as the boy caught himself, straightening with that same odd grin on his face. It was like he never stopped smiling. "About time." He grumbled, looking the brunette up and down. "You gave up on me, I thought we had a deal here."

Sora's smile wavered for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I didn't." He said simply, sounding unbothered. "Not entirely. I got out of here, didn't I? Without you." He added, like he wanted Roxas to kick him in the stomach. But his eyes glinted with mischief, and Roxas figured that it was better than having him mope around all the time, too depressed to even walk right. "But…thank you." Sora went on, surprising Roxas even more, if possible. "…For everything, Roxas. I mean it."

Roxas shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut, eyes widening at once. Sora started, tilting his head to the side with a concerned look at his Nobody. But before he could say anything, Roxas darted over to stand right beside him, gripping his wrist with an odd amount of strength. That's when Sora finally caught on and heard it as well. Footsteps. Footsteps coming closer, right for the two of them. A figure showed in the gloom, and it only took a few minutes before they were close enough to recognize. Sora stiffened like a board at once.

"Well, isn't this sweet?" Xemnas cooed, yellow eyes flashing as he spoke. His lip curled with distaste, eyeing the two like somebody would a dead skunk on the road. "How I do hate sweet things." He locked eyes with Sora as he said this, and the boy's blood immediately turned to ice. He suddenly forgot how to swallow. Roxas glanced over at him swiftly, tightening his hold on Sora. He seemed frozen, unable to say anything.

Taking the hint, Roxas grinded his teeth together, lurching forward but still clinging to Sora. "Get out of here, Xemnas!" He yelled, voice coming back to him as it echoed dimly. "You know you don't belong here! Get out or we'll MAKE you leave!" His keyblade flashed into his free hand as he spat the threat, as if enforcing his words. Xemnas looked at him, looking almost bored with the challenge. Which just seemed to fuel Roxas's bubbling anger.

"I hardly doubt it." He remarked dryly. "You couldn't defeat a flea."

"That's it!" Roxas yelled, anger bubbling over faster than he could even try to stop it. Letting go of Sora's arm, he ran forward, bringing his keyblade up in the air as he pelted forward. Sora jerked, as if roused from a dream. Blinking wildly, he let out a sharp yell at Roxas, having just enough time to watch the blonde leap into the air, coming down hard on Xemnas. Sora didn't know whether to call him back, run away, or join in the fight. Could you kill somebody that was already dead? Wasn't this supposed to be HIS heart in the first place? WHY WERE PEOPLE EVEN IN HERE?

Xemnas's blade gleamed into his hand, the man swinging deftly, blocking Roxas's attack and also managing to send the boy flying back many feet, skidding more than five when he landed. "Roxas!" Sora yelled, spinning around with a panicked look on his face. Roxas let out a muffled groan, holding his stomach as he tried to push himself up. But it was useless. He grimaced, flopping back down to the ground in a heap, unable to get up.

Sora tensed himself to dash over to his friend, but in less than a moment, Xemnas was standing in front of him. His yellow eyes gleamed with hunger as he looked down at the boy, and Sora immediately backtracked quickly. "What is it?" Xemnas cooed, advancing towards Sora with a slow stride, like a funeral march. Sora reacted by skittering backwards clumsily, gripping his keyblade so tight that his knuckles bleached white. "Is the little keybearer unable to fight without his friends protecting him?" The man went on, Sora nearly stumbling over himself in his haste to get away.

Suddenly, Xemnas lunged forward, catching Sora's arm and shoving him down to the ground. Slamming his head against the ground, Sora's gaze was fuzzy, the boy blinking rapidly to try and clear it up. Xemnas glared down hotly at the child, freezing cold eyes boring into his own blue ones. "Let's see how far into darkness you can travel." He mumbled, nose nearly touching Sora's own. The man plunged down, sinking his sword into Sora's side, the boy responding with a shrill scream. Surprisingly, Xemnas got off of him, letting him scramble to his feet without even trying to stop him. "Let's see which one of us is more POWERFUL." He scoffed.

Blood roared in Sora's ears, his side becoming sticky and hot. His mind raced a mile a minute as he stood, trying to catch his breath. But oddly enough, his thoughts were clear and calm, everything seemed to be in slow-motion. He's offended, Sora thought. He's offended that I managed to escape his castle, he thought that nothing could get past him. But was this really Xemnas? Something told him it was. The gleam of hatred, the red on his blade glinting in his eyes. That was something that Sora could not even try to think up. And the wound in his side showed that this was no ordinary dream. Somehow, Xemnas managed to come back, and Sora's only hope would be beating him now.

That just left him to wonder how he would do it.

Xemnas took the first blow, both swords struck out at his sides as he ran for Sora. The boy tensed himself, forcing his legs to stay rooted to the ground, even though his mind screamed at him to move, quick. Waiting for the right moment, Sora shot up into the air, getting a good few feet with the best jump he had ever managed in his life, thankfully. Xemnas looked slightly surprised, but he couldn't stop himself fast enough, he had been running too hard. Sora let himself fall, keyblade stuck out to the ground instead of his legs. His keyblade slammed into Xemnas's shoulder, sinking into the skin with deadly accuracy.

Wincing, Sora threw his weight forward, forcing himself down. He managed to scrape up enough strength to whirl Xemnas around with the blade still inside him. He slammed the older man to the ground, just like he had done for him. The sound was enough to make him flinch away, Sora was sure that he had taken half the battle with that move. He didn't even know where it had come from. But he snapped his keyblade back to him, jumping away from Xemnas as the man started to get up. Pain was creased on his face, and his voice dripped with anger as he got up. "You'll regret that." He rasped, spitting out blood as stood upright.

Sora flinched as a wave of pain crashed into him like an ocean, pressing his hand against his side. It came back bright red. Muttering a curse underneath his breath, Sora shook his head to clear it, locking his jaw back as he stood up as brave as he could against the enemy. "I don't think you could even manage to beat a kid like me." He boasted, making his voice sound confident and lofty. I think I'm too above you for you to even think that you could win against me. You couldn't even keep me in a room!"

This new tactic was a stupid one, but a smart one at the same time. He would try and get Xemnas so angry, he couldn't think straight. But with an enemy like him, Sora couldn't rely solely on that hope. It just wouldn't happen. It might work a little bit, but not that much. Xemnas was too level-headed, too calm and collected. An enemy greater than anybody Sora had faced before. He had his work cut out for him with this one. He didn't want to know what would happen if he didn't manage to defeat this guy.

As expected, Xemnas barely reacted. He merely scoffed at his attempts, eyes narrowing into a twisted scowl. He came forward again, and Sora realized with a jolt that he was a lot closer than Sora had thought he was. He grabbed Sora's by the throat, yanking him up in the air, holding him tightly. His air was cut off, Sora gasping for air, eyes wide as he tried to smack the man's hand away. But Xemnas paid no heed to it. Only squeezing tighter.

"You're a fool, Sora." He said, voice calm despite the new injuries sketched across him. "You're a fool for thinking you could have beaten me, and you're a fool for not listening to reason." On the last word, he tightened his hold, Sora thinking that his eyes would burst out of his head. The teen tried to struggle, kicking and clawing his way free, but nothing seemed to work. "You should thank me, child." Xemnas went on, eyes slanting down angrily. "I actually gave you a purpose in life. What were you doing before? Running around taking orders from somebody less than half your size? Helping your FRIENDS? Tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think friends are ones to give up secrets as easily as those two wretched people did."

Sora's struggles were growing weaker by now.

"I'm doing you a favor by killing you now. Or better yet, let the darkness consume you. Let it cover your every being, and that way you might show a little promise." Sora was fighting to keep his eyes open. Xemnas paused a moment, then shook his head with a little clucking noise of disapproval. "No, there is no hope for you." He mused finally. "I suppose I'll just have to do it now." One of the shimmering red blades came up to press against his skin, Sora hearing a small sizzling sound from the glinting sword. It stung him where it was, and Sora gaped, letting out a silent scream from the touch.

But suddenly, the blade was gone. The hold on Sora released, and the boy fell heavily to the ground, gasping painfully for air as he held his bleeding throat. Looking up through hazy eyes, Sora jerked, surprise and shock radiating off every inch of him. Roxas was up again, eyes burning as he and Xemnas fought head-on. The Nobody's keyblade was a blur in his efforts to both block the older man's attacks, and also to rain down a few of his own. He was pacing backwards as he did so, Xemnas bearing down on him hard. The man's eyes were burning with anger at the thought of being caught off-guard, powering his attacks, it looked like.

That was when Sora noticed Roxas's look. He was panicked. Scared. Over his head. Something that Sora thought was impossible for Roxas to show. He needed him. Scrambling to his feet, Sora wiped at his throat one last time before drawing his keyblade once more, rushing forward to aid his friend. His steps were clumsy at first, head spinning like a top from the lack of air. But gradually, it cleared, giving Sora back his sharp senses. Alert now, the boy rushed in from behind, dealing rapid, powerful blows to Xemnas's unprotected back.

Roxas smirked as he saw Sora, but the boy didn't give a signal that he had noticed. Xemnas spun around, but Sora was already gone. Rushing his side, Sora stayed out of his line of vision, swiping and jabbing whenever he had the chance. It was like they were dancing, Sora having little to no time to put power behind his strikes. They were just dull blows, they weren't helping much. But it was better than nothing, Sora thought in between pants for breath.

Finally, Xemnas managed to swipe across Sora's cheek, splitting open the old wound and making the boy stagger backwards. The man let out a rage of anger, and Sora froze with alarm as he saw what seemed to be a million lightening bolts shooting off of the man, going in all directions. Roxas started, getting down on the ground like there was a fire. Sora took his advice, ducking his head and rolling away from what he hoped was a majority of the attacks.

But something caught his shoe, immediately cutting off his movements altogether, making him jerk backwards. A burning sensation spread like wildfire through his body, and the teen had to clamp his teeth together to keep from yelling out in pain. The pain coursed through him for what seemed like years, and even when it stopped, the boy continued to jerk, as if the current were still going through him. His blue eyes were closed tightly, and his hand balled into a tight fist. Everything was silent, that was how he heard the slow footsteps stop over him.

Xemnas's breath was short too. The fight had been going for a long time by now, where was the other's breaking point? Where was Roxas? The man stooped down, trying to grab the boy by the collar. The touch roused Sora at once, and by some miracle, he managed to whirl around and aim a fireball directly at Xemnas's chest. The ball exploded into a small blaze of ember, and Xemnas immediately skidded backwards. Struggling to his feet, Sora swayed where he stood, eyes narrowed with fierce determination, despite the fact that he was losing for sure by now. He waited, unable to move at all while Xemnas recovered.

Roxas suddenly appeared beside Sora, looking just as worn out. Even more so from the nasty wound he had received earlier. He was more transparent than before, just like he was when Sora had last seen him. Looking at him now, and knowing that fact, it was all Sora could do not to give up all hope. Blue eyes fixed intently on Xemnas, he stood still while the man advanced, slower than before. His face was creased with fury and hatred, cloak sizzling, a cloud of smoke drifting behind him. He eyed the two for a moment before speaking, voice condescending. "Roxas, I never would have thought you to be weaker than the keyblade master. I suppose that's saying something."

"Shut up." Roxas spat, Sora surprised to hear the venom coursing in every syllable of his Nobody's voice.

Xemnas gaze switched over to Sora, eyes flashing. "And you." He said coldly. "Don't you see it's all for nothing? Everything in the world, it's worthless. Nothing is right, nothing is sane. You're just another player in a game that never ends, and you can't even see that." His voice had changed by now, not entirely aggressive, just most of it. There was another emotion there too, but Sora's head was too dizzy to even try and figure out what it was. "Don't you see?" Xemnas repeated. "You're worthless. Everybody is. Only the darkness holds the true answer."

"That's not true!" Sora yelled, before he could stop himself.

"Oh?" Xemnas asked, cocking an eyebrow at the brunette. "You witnessed the darkness' power, did you not?" Sora stopped at the words, eyes widening somewhat. "The way it took you from your troubles, hid them away. It solves everything, Sora, you know it does. That's why I'm here after all. I was created from the darkness inside your heart, and I am the voice of reason you are supposed to listen to. You know this to be true, I've heard you think of it myself."

"…That's not the way it's supposed to be…" Sora mumbled, almost like he was trying to persuade himself. Roxas glanced down at Sora's feet, and the boy followed his gaze slowly. The shadows were seeping forward once again, having reached his feet by now. They slowly crawled up his legs, freezing cold to the touch. He raised his eyes up to meet Roxas, expecting the boy to yell at him. But by now there was only a calm question in their blue depths.

"Well? What are you going to do, Sora? Which path will you take?"

Sora closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. He could go back in the shadows, it would be better…right? Back where nothing can hurt him. He thought of the way that Mickey left without saying good-bye. Of the way that everybody was treating him different nowadays. The way he couldn't leave the house without getting screamed at. Riku's change, the new tension between them. It would all go away, and Sora would never have to go back to it ever again. He could just stay exactly the way he was now, free from care and without anything to ever do. Without anybody to let down.

His forehead creased.

The shadows were past his knees.

He thought of the way Merlin always had his eye on him.

The way Leon and Yuffie were always together without him.

Past his waist.

The way that nobody liked Axel.

It was all a jumbled mess.

"…But…no…" Sora muttered, blinking open his eyes little by little. He thought of the way that Kairi always looked at him now, eyes gleaming with love. The way that Yuffie had forced the two of them underneath the mistletoe in front of everyone, the ninja's laughter in the air. The way that Aerith had made Sora hot chocolate with more marshmallows than everybody else combined. The way that everybody gathered together at night and told stories of what happened while Sora was gone. The way that nobody asked him to tell them what happened to him at the Organization's castle.

Past his chest.

There WERE things wrong in his life. But there were things wrong in everyone's life as well. It was the little things, the small, carefree tidbits that you had to collect and save. Store in your mind so that when you have one of those bad moments, you were able to struggle through it. That was the point in life, wasn't it? To take the good and the bad? The cherish the good ones and storm through the bad? "No." Sora whispered, eyes snapping open fully. Roxas smiled. Xemnas's eyes narrowed. The shadows stopped, slowly melting off of Sora like rainwater. His hand balled into a tight fist, and too a menacing step towards Xemnas. "NO!" He screamed.

That seemed to be all it took. A wave of shimmering golden light radiated off of Sora, glinting like a star, and lighting up the place around them so it looked like daytime. Roxas screwed his eyes shut, holding up his hand against the sudden glare. Xemnas tried to shield himself from it, shrinking under it, it seemed. "YOU'RE the one who means nothing!" Sora yelled, the glow only getting brighter and brighter. "Just because you're too stupid to see what matters most, doesn't mean I have to do the same! I know where my heart lies, and it's with my friends! You're just somebody too thick-headed to see the real light! I'm not scared of you! You have NO control over me ANYMORE!"

The glow got so bright that even Sora had to close his eyes. But he didn't shrink away. He braced himself against it, finding strength and warmth from the yellow gleam of light. He had no idea what it was, and yet it was helping him. It took a few minutes for it to die down, and when it did, Sora opened his eyes with a startled gape. They weren't standing in shadows anymore. It was a grassy clearing, dotted with trees that displayed pure white roses, like from Alice's world that he was in so long ago. The sun was high overhead, and the sky was clear. The place was filled with a warm kind of aura, and the smell of roses wafted on the breeze.

Roxas looked stunned as he looked around. "It was light." He mumbled softly. "…Light." He repeated, as if the word were new on his tongue. Sora blinked, staring at Roxas a moment longer before managing a smile. And then a small nod. Roxas smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Sora made it seemed like they were equals. The thought would have made him laugh earlier, but now he just took it with a soft grin. It was only then that they both remembered.

Sora whirled around, blue eyes narrowing as he looked down at Xemnas. The man was sprawled on the ground, breath coming in rapid gasps. His eyes were glazed as he met Sora's own, and his mouth opened, like he wanted something to say. Before he could, Sora marched forward, kneeling down beside him and giving him a sharp glare of fury. "This is my life." Sora said clearly. "Now get out of it."

And just like that, Xemnas was gone in a puff of smoke. Sora watched it until it disappeared in the sunlight, just like every shadow did eventually. "…You did it." Roxas said after a pause. "You actually defeated Xemnas. Never would have thought it." The blonde came forward to stand beside him, blue eyes drawn to Sora, who hadn't gotten up off the ground yet. He didn't respond. Itching to break the silence, Roxas went on, eyeing the new land around them. "I'll have to get used to this." He commented.

Sora pushed himself up, grinning once more. "You'll get used to it." He assured.

The pair's eyes were drawn to something in the corner. A door, painted purple with yellow and pink polka-dots. There was a bold text across the wood: EXIT. Sora made no move towards it. Roxas nudged him forward gently. "You go on ahead." He said. "I'll stay back this time around. You go have fun." He made it sound like Sora should be back before dinner.

The boy's eyes were oddly sad as he turned to look at the Nobody. "Will I ever see you again?"

Roxas shrugged. "I'll always be around. Like a cold you can't shake." He punched Sora lightly in the chest, right over his heart. The brunette smiled softly, sadness melting off like snow. "You were right, you know." Roxas added, just as long as he was being cheesy. "You do have some really cool friends. You shouldn't ever forget that anytime soon, or I'll find out about it."

Sora laughed. "I know you will."

They stood, staring at one another. Nobody moved. "You'll be fine." Roxas assured. "And…you know where to find me if you ever get into a jam. I'll come and save the day."

"Right." Sora said.

Looking over his shoulder, and then once more back at Roxas, Sora turned, heading for the door. The grass was springy were he walked, and flowers brushed at his ankles. A small breeze whistled through his hair, and a songbird echoed from far away. It was much different than the way it had been before, Sora reflected as he stopped in front of the oddly-colored door. But it was much better. So maybe that meant being different was a good thing too.

He reached over, throwing it open wide. It was a winding hallway, no doubt leading back the way he had come. He looked over one last time to Roxas, who grinned and waved back. Yes, everything would be fine from now on. The last part of Sora's past with the Organization was gone, save for Axel. But Sora was sure that it wouldn't be too much a hassle in keeping him around. Roxas was safe too, and so was his heart. Everything would be okay.

So, with one last wave to Roxas, Sora turned, stepping into the hallway and shutting the door softly behind him. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he looked around one last time before starting down the path that he knew led back to his friends.

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…-poke- Did I do good? O3o

So I gotta get up a five in the morning for marching band, I gotta go D:

I hope you all loved this story, and I hope you'll stay with me to read any other future KH stories! Thank you SO much to ALL of my reviewers! We didn't make it to 600 reviews, but you know what, this is the most reviews I've ever had, so a HUGE thank you to EVERYBODY out there! I hope this was worth the read, and…YEAH :D

Thank you very much, I truly think this is the most well-done story I've EVER had. And I hope you think it's just as good. ^^

P.S: For the record I had this done at ten yesterday (AT NIGHT YOU'RE WELCOME) but the internet was down, so what're you gonna do? ; )


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